U.S. braces for North Korea announcement as Pyongyang gathers for major political conference
North Korea has Washington on edge these days. That feeling was amplified Sunday when North Korean state media announced that Pyongyang's ruling Workers' Party launched a major political conference.
The meeting comes ahead of a year-end deadline the country set for the United States to offer concessions amid stalled denuclearization negotiations. While the state news network utilized typically vague language to describe the event, it's clear that the party will focus on how the country plans to address the "harsh trials and difficulties" it faces, including national defense.
The Associated Press reports observers are keeping a close eye on how things unfold as some suspect Pyongyang may finally announce its plans to abandon diplomacy with the U.S. during the conference and begin major weapons tests again after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to suspend activity in April 2018.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If Pyongyang does resume those tests, White House National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said the U.S. "has a lot of tools in our toolkit" when asked about how the Trump administration would respond, though he refused to go into detail. Read more at The Hill and The Associated Press. Tim O'Donnell
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Political cartoons for December 13Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include saving healthcare, the affordability crisis, and more
-
Farage’s £9m windfall: will it smooth his path to power?In Depth The record donation has come amidst rumours of collaboration with the Conservatives and allegations of racism in Farage's school days
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
