Bush Sends His Negotiator for Talks in North Korea

The Bush administration is dispatching Christopher Hill to Pyongyang in a last-ditch effort to rescue an accord leading to the country’s nuclear disarmament.

North Koreans Bar Inspectors at Nuclear Site

The move left the country on the verge of restarting a nuclear weapons program whose shutdown was portrayed as a significant diplomatic achievement.

In South Korea, Mixed Reaction to Bush

President Bush’s visit sharpened a political divide in Seoul, where middle-aged Christians and veterans waved U.S. flags, while young South Koreans battled riot police.

North Koreans Welcome Symphonic Diplomacy

Hinting at a wider cultural thaw, a concert by the New York Philharmonic was the first permitted by an American orchestra in the country.

North Korea Seeks a Clapton Concert

On Tuesday North Korean officials invited the superstar rock guitarist Eric Clapton to perform there, according to a representative for the North Korean Embassy in London.

For the Press, a Closely Guided Tour of Pyongyang

North Korean officials gave journalists a scripted tour of Pyongyang’s sites, but there were spontaneous moments.

South Korean President Pledges Pragmatism

After he was sworn in Monday, President Lee Myung-bak pledged to improve relations with the United States and draw North Korea out of its isolation.