North Korea abruptly withdraws from office shared with South

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By Linda Givetash and Associated Press

North Korea abruptly withdrew from a liaison office with South Korea on Friday, in a major setback for Seoul just hours after Washington imposed the first new sanctions on the North since the U.S.-North Korea summit broke down last month.

The office, which opened last year, had marked renewed cooperation between the North and South that were until then only in contact through telecommunications.

The second U.S.-North Korea summit in Vietnam collapsed due to disputes over U.S.-led sanctions on the North. Senior Trump administration officials said on Thursday that “the door is wide open” to more talks but at the same time, added the U.S. plans to ramp up enforcement of the disputed sanctions and other economic measures.

source: nbcnews.com