South Korea: U.S. "very actively" coaxing North Korea to return to nuclear talks

Why it matters: North Korean officials have warned the United States not to ignore the deadline and cautioned that the likelihood of restarting talks is shrinking. A North Korean official said Pyongyang expects reciprocal steps from Washington by the end of the year, according to Reuters.

What they're saying: Chung said South Korea has created backup plans if the deadline passes without any progress.

• “Only if talks between high-rank officials happen and lead to substantial progress, will the third North Korea-United States summit be possible,” Chung said, according to Reuters.

The big picture: Denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have stalled since a meeting in February between President Trump and Kim in Hanoi left both leaders empty-handed. Since the breakdown of talks, North Korea has carried out multiple rounds of missile tests.

Go deeper:

• New book claims that Kim Jong-un views Trump as father figure
• U.S. presented tourism plans to North Korea during denuclearization talks
• North Korea's Kim sends "defiant" sanctions message at sacred mountain