Bad to worse: How diplomatic hopes with North Korea plunged

The February launch heralded a year of escalating tensions that have left the US and North Korea closer to hostilities than at any time since the Korean War ended in 1953.

By: AP | Washington | Published: December 30, 2017 2:23 pm

Bad to worse: How diplomatic hopes with North Korea plunged

FILE – In this Dec. 15, 2017, file photo, U.S. special envoy for North Korea policy Joseph Yun speaks to media in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP photo)

In the first month of Donald Trump’s presidency, an American scholar quietly met with North Korean officials and relayed a message: The new administration in Washington appreciated an extended halt in the North’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests. It might just offer a ray of hope.