North in talks to free US detainees

US, Japan discuss denuclearisation ahead of summit

Seoul, March 19: North Korea is in talks with the US and Sweden to release three Americans held in the North, reports said, as diplomatic activities gathered pace ahead of Pyongyang’s planned summits with Washington and Seoul.

The release of the three Korean- Americans -- all held in the North after being separately charged with unspecified “hostile acts” against the regime - - is under discussion through multiple channels almost two weeks after President Donald Trump agreed to meet the North’s Kim Jong Un, reports said.

While Pyongyang has yet to confirm it even made the summit offer -relayed by Seoul envoys who had met Kim in Pyongyang -- the stunning announcement has triggered a race to set a credible agenda for what would be historic talks between the two leaders.

Seoul- based MBC TV station reported Sunday that Pyongyang and Washington had “practically reached” a final agreement on the release of Kim Hak- song, Kim Sang- duk and Kim Dongchul.

“They are hammering out details over the timing Seoul, March 19: Top US, South Korean and Japanese officials have discussed how to achieve a complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula ahead of upcoming inter- Korean and USNorth Korean summit talks. Seoul has said previously that North Korean leader Kim Jong- un agreed to hold summit talks with South Korean President Moon Jae- in in late April. Seoul says Kim proposed meeting with President Donald Trump, and Trump agreed to him by the end of May. of the release,” it quoted an unnamed South Korean diplomatic source as saying.

The negotiation was held through the North’s mission to the United Nations and the US State Department -- an unofficial avenue of communication dubbed the “New York channel,” the source said.