Kim Jong Un has 'decided' on U.S.-North Korea summit, Seoul says

Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un has made up his mind about the timing of the next U.S.-North Korea summit, Seoul's spy agency said Monday.

Suh Hoon, the head of South Korea's national intelligence service, told the National Assembly's information committee the third official meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader could take place before the end of the year, News 1 and MoneyToday reported.

In preparation for the third summit, not counting the brief Trump-Kim encounter at the truce village of Panmunjom, working-level talks between Pyongyang and Washington could take place in November, or early December at the latest, the spy chief said, according to reports.

U.S. and North Korean officials most recently met in Sweden in October, but the talks collapsed, according to Pyongyang.

Suh also said Kim could visit China ahead of a third U.S.-North Korea summit, to commemorate the 70th anniversary of bilateral ties.

Last week, sources in China told a South Korean newspaper North Korea's all-women's Moranbong Band could tour Chinese cities in December, and that Chinese President Xi Jinping could attend a concert with Kim.

The spy agency raised concerns regarding North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear complex. The plutonium reprocessing facility at the site has shown no signs of activity other than maintenance inspection, but the uranium enrichment facility is in operation and the experimental light-water nuclear reactor appears to be under renovation, according to Seoul.

Suh said the Punggye-ri nuclear test site that North Korea detonated in May 2018 appears to be in a "state of neglect." Recovery work is under way in the area following damage caused by typhoons to roads and bridges.

Suh's assessment of North Korean affairs came the same day South Korea's defense ministry warned of Pyongyang's capabilities to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles from road mobile launchers.

News 1 reported Monday the South Korean military said it is prepared for North Korea's mobile launch capabilities, even if there is a "0.001 percent possibility" of such a launch.

Last week, North Korea fired two projectiles as it warned of a "year-end deadline" for the United States.