North Korea: A Pentagon official said Monday that  North Korea's recent missile launches show the seriousness of threat posed to the United States and South Korea, amid a conciliatory gesture from Pyongyang after a series of weapons tests. Siddharth Mohandas, US deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, made the remark at the start of the biannual 20th Korea-US Integrated Defense Dialogue (KIDD) in Seoul to discuss regional security situations and pending alliance issues.

The remarks came two days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, said the North could declare a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, as suggested by South Korea, and even discuss an inter-Korean summit if Seoul drops what she called a "hostile policy" against Pyongyang. Kim's statement came amid concerns over the North's recent cruise and ballistic missile launches, and signs of the reclusive regime reactivating a key nuclear reactor at its mainstay.

Earlier in the day, US reconnaissance aircraft, including a Global Hawk, were spotted flying over the Korean Peninsula in an apparent move to track North Korea's activities following the missile launches and Kim's statement. During the two-day meeting, the two sides plan to discuss "major pending security issues," such as the assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and the policy coordination on North Korea, according to the defense ministry.

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