Nuclear cooldown in question

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday identified the missile test engine site that it says North Korea has pledged to destroy, but the president’s latest comments about resolving the nuclear standoff have raised new questions about what concessions Pyongyang made.

The testing site in question is in North Pyongan province, according to an administration official.

Mr. Trump boasted at a Cabinet meeting Thursday that his administration has had “tremendous success” with North Korea, adding that denuclearization had begun.

However, Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters Wednesday he wasn’t aware that North Korea had taken steps yet toward denuclearization.

Sudanese leaders convene

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — The two leaders at the center of the brutal civil war in South Sudan, which plunged the world’s youngest nation into a humanitarian crisis, have met face to face for peace talks for the first time in several years.

South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, met Wednesday night with his former vice president, Riek Machar, who leads the country’s main opposition forces.

Fighting erupted in 2013 between forces loyal to Mr. Kiir and his Dinka ethnic group and a faction loyal to Mr. Machar and the ethnic Nuer.

The clashes devolved into a civil war two years after South Sudan gained independence from Sudan.

Bolton set to visit Moscow

MOSCOW— President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, John R. Bolton, will visit Moscow to plan a meeting with Vladimir Putin, the White House said Thursday.

Mr. Bolton will travel to the Russian capital next week to discuss a sit-down after stopping in London and Rome.

A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, emphasized that so far the sides had reached no agreement on a meeting. “When and if we are ready, we will make the announcement, ”Mr. Peskov saidin a conference call.

Brits provide Brexit clarity

LONDON — Britain has outlined how it plans to handle millions of residence applications from European Union citizens after Brexit.

When Britain leaves the bloc next year, it will end the free-movement policy that lets EU citizens live in any member state. The government says EU citizens already in Britain can stay and have families join them.

There are about 3.8 million EU nationals living in Britain, and almost 1 million U.K. citizens who reside elsewhere in the 28-nation bloc.

Taliban shadow regimes

KABUL — A detailed study published Thursday by the Overseas Development Institute describes a “system of parallel governance” in Afghanistan, with commissions for areas of service, such as health and finance, operating in numerous districts controlled by the insurgents. The study surveyed 20 such districts across seven provinces.

The main conclusions of the report are that the Taliban has largely shifted from outright coercion to “creeping influence” over Afghans through services and state activities; it is often part of the local “social fabric.”

In addition, it states that the Taliban views itself as preparing to govern the country, not just to participate in political life, whenever the 16-year conflict ends.