North Korea Refuses to Meet with U.S. Representative to Discuss a Denuclearization Deal

This is just further evidence that North Korea is committed to conducting a provocation:

U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun failed to meet a senior North Korean diplomat at the North’s side of the Joint Security Area, also known as Panmunjeom, despite his open request for the high-profile meeting to resume stalled denuclearization talks.

“Efforts by intelligence officials between South Korea and the United States to make Biegun’s direct encounter with North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui actually happen at Panmunjeom went in vain as Pyongyang didn’t respond to the request,” a senior South Korean intelligence official told The Korea Times by telephone, Tuesday.

After wrapping up his three-day visit to Seoul, the senior Washington official left for Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials on the North Korean nuclear issue. The intelligence official added Biegun had planned to pass on U.S. President Donald Trump’s “personal messages” for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the senior North Korean diplomat if the meeting had happened.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime seems committed to raising tensions and creating a “crisis”. This will allow the U.S. media to have non-stop breathless coverage of how President Trump’s North Korea policies have failed. The Kim regime probably believes this will pressure Trump into a deal favorable to them because he is facing reelection next year and will want the Korea “crisis” to go away.

The only question now appears to be what will the rocket launch be? I expect they will conduct a “space launch” and put a satellite into orbit again. This allows the Kim regime to claim they have the right to the peaceful use of space just like everyone else. Plus it gives cover to the Russians and Chinese to block any efforts to further sanction North Korea at the United Nations.