North Korea

Under the agreement, South Korea will contribute about $890 million a year for the U.S. military presence — less than the billion dollars or more the U.S. had requested.

The U.S. and North Korea will meet in Vietnam, Trump told lawmakers during the State of the Union address. The countries will work toward details of denuclearization missing from last year's meeting.

Kim Jong Un praised Trump's "unusual determination" to come to an agreement. A second summit, expected around late February, could be a chance for the two countries to work out crucial details.

Joel Wit, a former State Department official who played a key role in negotiating and implementing the 1994 denuclearization deal with North Korea, writes about important lessons.

NPR's Mara Liasson joins Lulu Garcia-Navarro to discuss the president's negotiation-by-spectacle strategy on the shutdown, and to examine the latest moves in the Mueller investigation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Kim for the four-day visit. The two leaders could use the visit to coordinate ahead of a second summit between the U.S. and North Korea.

South Korea barred Kim Myong Song, a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo newspaper, from covering a meeting with North Korean officials. He believes they were concerned his presence could derail the talks.

"We must rush to elevate the sport to global levels," North Korea's official newspaper reportedly stated this week. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has a well-known love for the sport.

In an interview with NPR, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expanded on remarks by President Trump, who declared the U.S. had "won against ISIS" amid news that the Pentagon would pull troops from Syria.

New research shared exclusively with NPR suggests that Pyongyang is refining its weapons technology through open scientific research. China leads the way in scientific collaboration with North Korea.

The product promises to moisturize skin with mineral water from North Korea, but some say it trivializes tensions on the Korean Peninsula.