NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with journalist Robin Wright about President Trump's decision to accept North Korea's "audacious invitation" and what might happen next.

n a breathtaking gambit that surprised his closest advisers, President Trump, almost impulsively, accepted an invitation on Thursday to meet the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un—by May—to discuss how to defuse the world’s most dangerous nuclear standoff. The invitation was relayed by a South Korean delegation...

Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua said on Thursday that Islamabad and Washington were engaged at high-level to promote mutual understanding and discuss ways on how the two countries could work together for the common goal of regional stability, including peace in Afghanistan.

It will be one of the most eagerly watched diplomatic encounters since Richard Nixon was hosted by Mao Zedong in China, or Ronald Reagan held talks with Mikhail Gorbachev in neutral Switzerland.

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Frank Aum, a former senior adviser on North Korea at the Department of Defense, who is now a senior expert at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

U.S. President Donald signaled an openness to talks with North Korea on Tuesday, citing “possible progress” after the regime told visiting South Korean envoys that it was prepared to halt tests of nuclear weapons and missiles and would put scrapping its atomic arsenal on the table for discussion — an apparent breakthrough after months of bellicose threats from both Washington and Pyongyang raised the specter of a devastating and bloody war.

Top South Korean national security officials are set to head to the US on Thursday, as Seoul seeks to rally support from its allies in its efforts to engage North Korea ahead of the inter-Korean summit slated for end of April.

Korea’s expressed willingness to halt its missile tests to open talks about disarmament with the United States was met with skeptical optimism by President Trump, members of Congress and experts.