US delegation extends stay in Seoul for summit preparation talks: report

A US delegation tasked with preparing for a much-anticipated summit with North Korea has extended its stay in the South "for at least another day," a new report said Thursday.

Citing a source familiar with US-North Korea relations, CNN reported that the delegation, led by US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, may stay here to continue its talks with North Korean officials over the summit expected to occur on June 12 in Singapore.

The US delegation and the North's team, led by Pyongyang's Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui, have been holding talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, apparently to discuss the agenda of the summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

(Yonhap)

The two sides first held secret talks on Sunday and again on Wednesday.

On another track in Singapore, the two sides have been in talks over security and logistical issues. In New York, Kim Yong-chol, a vice central committee chairman of the ruling Workers' Party and a former spy chief, is meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The flurry of talks come as the two sides are trying to salvage the summit, which was on the verge of collapse last Thursday when Trump walked away, citing "open hostility" from the North. Following the North's conciliatory gesture, Trump later suggested that the summit could happen as planned.(Yonhap)