N. Korea says will not use nuclear arms against South

By Cansu Dikme

ANKARA

U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday there is "possible progress" being made with North Korea following reports the leaders of North and South Korea would soon meet for the first time.

"For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting!" Trump wrote on Twitter. "May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!"

Reports by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency indicated North Korea promised earlier in the day to refrain from using nuclear weapons against its southern neighbor.

“The North promised not to use not only nuclear weapons but also conventional weapons against the South,” according to Chung Eui-yong, the head of South Korean President Moon Jae-in's National Security Office.

Eui-yong also said North Korea would halt nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches “as long as the U.S.-North Korea talks are in progress”, and agreed to a summit next month in North Korea between the leaders of both countries, the news agency said.

A hotline will be establish to help ease military tensions and enable consultations between the two leaders.

Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are to meet in the joint security area of Panmunjeom.

The statements has yet to be confirmed by North Korea and came after Chung, leading a delegation, returned from a two-day visit to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, to meet Kim.

The meeting followed an unprecedented level of cooperation during last month's Winter Olympics in South Korea.

In a separate statement Tuesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was equally cautious as Trump, stressing Washington and its allies "remain committed to applying maximum pressure on the Kim regime to end their nuclear program.

"All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearization," he said.

*Michael Hernandez contributed to this report from Washington