N.K. Leader Makes First Comment on Dialogue With U.S. at Party Meeting

The North's ruler made a "profound analysis and appraisal" of inter-Korean ties and potential talks with the U.S. at the meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's political bureau Monday, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Hours before the report came out, Trump said he plans to meet with Kim next month or in early June to "hopefully" reach a deal on the North's denuclearization. Kim discussed the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula, including details about his planned summit with President Moon Jae-in on April 27.

The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.  Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence back-channels to make preparations for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence officials have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.

During a ceremony on Monday marking National Day of Nuclear Technology, 83 technological developments in nuclear industry were unveiled at the presence of President Rouhani and number of other cabinet members including Ali Akbar Salehi, the vice president and the chief of the nuclear energy organization. Rouhani and those accompanying him at the ceremony inspected a number equipment used in the nuclear industry. At the ceremony, Rouhani, through a video conference, also issued an order for transfer of the yellowcake produced in the Ardakan factory in Yazd to the uranium conversion facility (UCF) in Isfahan.

China has banned the export to North Korea of some items with potential dual use in weapons of mass destruction, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website. The list of items reflects a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted unanimously in September over North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes. The ministry gave details of 32 materials, technologies and forms of equipment with potential use related to weapons of mass destruction, including particle accelerators and centrifuges.

Quality deviations have been detected on certain welds of the main secondary system in the EPR reactor under construction at Flamanville, northern France, EDF announced today. The utility has informed the French regulator of the discovery, but has yet to determine whether the unit's start-up, expected at the end of this year, will be delayed.

The vision for a world without nuclear weapons has become blurred and needs to be refocused. Two opposing trends in disarmament have come into sharper relief. Deepening concerns over the deteriorating strategic environment impel some states to reaffirm reliance on nuclear deterrence in the belief that nuclear deterrence benefits national and international security and stability and prevents a major war. At the same time, other states and civil society groups, including hibakusha, seek the total elimination of nuclear weapons without further delay, based on deep concerns about the risks of catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear use, as reflected in the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This divide has deepened and become so stark that states with divergent views have been unable to engage meaningfully with each other on key issues.