NoKo honcho is DC-bound

A senior aide to Kim Jong-un is reportedly headed to Washington, DC, to meet with US officials and discuss the potential summit between Kim and President Trump.

Kim Yong-chol, Pyongyang’s former spy chief, is expected to fly to the United States after stopping in Singapore, where US officials are planning a possible meeting between the two world leaders, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported Monday night.

Kim Yong-chol has been closely involved in talks with South Korea as well, and his visit to the United States would further indicate preparations for the historic summit are moving ahead.

Meanwhile, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he wants more impromptu talks with Kim Jong-un in the lead-up to the summit.

Moon and Kim held a surprise meeting Saturday in the border village of Panmunjom, and Moon said afterward that Kim is committed to denuclearization and to meeting Trump.

Moon, who has been acting as a middleman between Kim and Trump, might also attend the offagain, on-again summit, tentatively set for June 12, Yonhap reported.

Trump last week said he was pulling out of the meeting, citing North Korea’s “open hostility,” but later insisted the summit remained a possibility when Pyongyang softened its tone.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the US will delay major new sanctions against the North while talks continue.