Seoul and Washington are in the final stages of organizing U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun's trip to South Korea next week.
Local media reports citing diplomatic sources, Biegun's first trip to Seoul since the Hanoi summit is set for May 8th through the 10th.
In Seoul, he's expected to meet with his South Korean counterpart, Lee Do-hoon to discuss North Korea's nuclear issue following the Hanoi summit in February which ended prematurely without a deal.
Should all go as planned, next week's meeting will be the first "working group" meeting between the allies in about two months.
The two sides also plan to discuss the South Korean government's delayed humanitarian aid to the North via international organizations.
Washington's sanctions exemptions for major importers of Iranian oil expire on Thursday.
Late last month, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced there won't be any extensions of sanctions waivers for eight main buyers, including South Korea and Japan.
Washington's toughest ever sanctions on Tehran come after the U.S. withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in May last year, with President Trump saying the agreement "had not stopped Iran from developing its nuclear and missile programs."
This is likely to take a toll on South Korea's petrochemical industry, as Korea imports 80-percent of its condensate, or ultra-light oil from Iran and Qatar.
Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Jerome Powell announced that the central bank will keep its benchmark rate in the range of two-point-two-five to 2-point-five percent, unchanged since March.
The Federal Open Market Committee explained that the labor market is strong and that economic activities continue to rise at a solid rate.
The Fed acknowledged both overall and core inflation "have declined and are running below" the central bank’s 2 percent target.
The chairman also added that there was a slowdown in household spending and business investment in the first quarter, noting that the basis for healthy economy is consumer spending and business investment.
President Moon Jae-in held a meeting Thursday with around a dozen "elders" to seek their advice on state affairs.
Over a working lunch at the Blue House, they discussed a range of issues, including government reform, employment, and ways to strengthen the social safety net.
Attendees included a former prime minister, a former head of the National Intelligence Service, as well as ex-ministers, judicial officers and professors.
A similar meeting was held last month, to which the president invited former economic officials to seek advice on policy in that field.
Source: Arirang News
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