“North Korea is willing to hold talks with the United States on denuclearization and will suspend nuclear tests while those talks are under way, the South said on Tuesday after a delegation returned from the North where it met leader Kim Jong Un,” Reuters reports. “North and South Korea, still technically at war but enjoying a sharp easing in tension since the Winter Olympics in the South last month, will also hold their first summit in more than a decade next month at the border village of Panmunjom, the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing.”
“‘North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure,’ the head of the delegation, Chung Eui-yong, told a media briefing,” Reuters reports. “He also cited the North as saying it would not carry out nuclear or missile tests while talks with the United States were under way.”
“Washington and Pyongyang have been at loggerheads for months over the North’s nuclear and missile programs,” Reuters reports. “The agreement came on the heels of a visit made by a 10-member South Korean delegation led by Chung to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, on Monday in hopes of encouraging North Korea and the United States to talk to one another… The South’s delegation leader, Chung, said he would travel to the United States to explain the outcome of the visit to North Korea and that he had a message from North Korea he will deliver to Trump.”
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“U.S. stock index futures posted strong gains ahead of Tuesday’s open after North Korea expressed a willingness to talk about denuclearization,” Alexandra Gibbs reports for CNBC. “Around 8 a.m. ET, Dow futures were up 141 points, indicating a rise of 139 points at the open. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 futures also pointed to strong gains for their respective markets.”
“The moves in pre-market trade come after a strong finish on Wall Street Monday, where the Dow Jones industrial average soared more than 300 points by the close, bouncing back from weakness seen earlier on in the session,” Gibbs reports. “Last week, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would be imposing new tariffs on aluminum and steel, before going onto threaten European carmakers with a tax on imports if the European Union retaliated over the U.S. administration’s tariff plans. However, on Monday, fears eased after Trump suggested in a tweet that he could drop tariffs if a ‘new and fair’ NAFTA agreement was signed.”
“Also on Tuesday, investors will remain on edge for any further developments surrounding tariffs and trade negotiations,” Gibbs reports. “Trump is set to meet with Stefan Lofven, the prime minister of Sweden, where the two leaders are expected to talk about investment, global security and trade.”
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MacDailyNews Take: Stability is, of course, good for the economy, the markets, Apple, other multinationals, and, basically, everyone.
New all-time high for AAPL looming?