Key facts
- South Korea's presidential office said it saw little prospect of North Korean participation in APEC-related events.
- A senior presidential official said no additional North Korean activity was detected at the DMZ beyond loudspeaker preparations.
- South Korea is monitoring whether Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the APEC summit in Shenzhen.
- The official said a possible US-China-Russia trilateral summit could allow discussion of North Korea.
- North Korea denies responsibility for a September DMZ blast that South Korea says seriously wounded several of its soldiers.
South Korea's presidential office said on November 12, 2026 that it saw little prospect of contact between the United States and North Korea around the APEC summit in China, or of Pyongyang's participation in APEC-related events.
US President Donald Trump has sought to restart talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but US and South Korean officials see fading chances of a meeting this year, the office said.
A senior South Korean presidential official, commenting on a recent rise in tensions along the inter-Korean border, said no additional North Korean activity had been detected at the Demilitarized Zone beyond preparations for possible loudspeaker broadcasts. Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, announced in October 2026 that her country was considering restarting propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers near the inter-Korean border.
South Korea says North Korean mines planted as part of fortification activity in the DMZ caused a blast in September 2026 that seriously wounded several of its soldiers. North Korea denies responsibility and calls the incident a South Korean fabrication.
The official said South Korea is also monitoring whether Russian President Vladimir Putin attends the APEC summit in Shenzhen, given Seoul had diplomatic issues to discuss with Moscow. He did not elaborate. A possible trilateral summit involving the United States, China and Russia at the gathering could provide an opportunity to discuss North Korea, he said.