Summary of external news of North Korea this week

SEOUL, Oct. 23 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of external news on North Korea this week.

Trump signals uncertainty about meeting N. Korean leader in China next month

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday expressed uncertainty about the possibility of meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in China next month, saying he was not sure whether anyone had requested such a meeting.

Trump made the remarks when asked by a reporter whether he expected to secure a meeting with Kim on the occasion of his planned visit to China next month.

Unverified rumors of N.K. leader's death spread on overseas social media

SEOUL -- Unverified claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had died after suffering a brain hemorrhage have spread on overseas social media, while North Korean state media reported his visit to a public exhibition.

The rumors were reported Tuesday by the British tabloid The Sun, the New York Post and India's Economic Times, which cited social media posts that had claimed Kim suffered a severe brain hemorrhage, fell into a coma and was rushed to a hospital in Beijing.

N. Korea may be testing Trump's red lines with increased missile launches in 2nd term: analysis

WASHINGTON -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may be testing U.S. President Donald Trump's tolerance for military provocations, a U.S. think tank analysis showed Tuesday, as Pyongyang has increased its missile launch activities during Trump's second term.

The analysis by Victor Cha and Andy Lim of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) raised the possibility that Kim is seeking to gauge Washington's response to his expanding weapons activities despite Trump's repeated overtures for renewed dialogue.

Xi reaffirms commitment to strengthening ties with N. Korea in reply to Kim Jong-un's letter

SEOUL -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has reaffirmed Beijing's commitment to strengthening ties with North Korea, saying the two countries have long supported each other across generations, the North's state media reported Thursday.

Xi made the remarks in a reply sent to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, responding to Kim's Oct. 1 congratulatory message marking the 77th anniversary of the founding of China, in which Kim pledged to further develop their traditional friendship and safeguard shared interests.

S. Korea sends letter to UNSC urging N. Korea to take responsibility for DMZ mine blasts

WASHINGTON -- South Korea has sent a letter to the president of the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) over last month's land mine explosion incident near the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers, calling for North Korea to apologize and take responsibility for the incident, according to officials Thursday.

South Korean Ambassador to the United Nations Cha Ji-hoon sent the roughly two-page letter to his Greek counterpart, who holds the rotating Security Council presidency, outlining the findings of an investigation into the Sept. 21 explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), according to the South Korean mission to the U.N.

Trump-Kim summit unlikely in near future amid N. Korean demands: U.S. experts

WASHINGTON -- The prospects of a summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the near future remain slim, U.S. experts said, citing Pyongyang's demands for a shift in Washington's policy toward the North, including its approach to denuclearization.

Jenny Town, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center, and Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, offered their assessments during a podcast discussion hosted by Victor Cha, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published Thursday.