2017 – 18 North Korea crisis was a period of heightened tension between North Korea and the United States throughout 2017 and half of 2018 , which began when North Korea conducted a series of missile and nuclear tests that demonstrated the country 's ability to launch ballistic missiles beyond its immediate region and suggested that North Korea 's nuclear weapons capability was developing at a faster rate than had been assessed by the U.S. intelligence community . This , as well as a regular joint U.S. – South Korea military exercise undertaken in August 2017 and U.S. threats , raised international tensions in the region and beyond . During 2017 , North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in early September , and heated rhetoric was exchanged , stoking fears about a possible war . While the tensions were mostly with the United States , North Korea threatened Australia twice with nuclear strikes throughout 2017 , accusing them of siding with the U.S. and ' blindly ' following them . By the beginning of 2018 , however , tensions began to ease dramatically , with North Korea announcing the restoration of the Seoul – Pyongyang hotline and agreeing to hold talks with South Korea about participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang . Diplomatic activity flourished during the next few months , with the suspension of nuclear and missile tests by North Korea , and the 2018 inter-Korean summit in late April which culminated in the signing of the Panmunjom Declaration on 27 April 2018 . An unprecedented bilateral summit between Kim and Trump was held in Singapore on 12 June 2018 . It resulted in a joint declaration calling for the " full denuclearization of the Korean peninsula " . A second summit between Kim and Trump took place in Hanoi , Vietnam on 27 – 28 February 2019 . Though talks there broke down , a third summit took place in the Korean Demilitarized Zone ( DMZ ) on 30 June 2019 , with Trump becoming the first US leader to visit North Korea . Both sides subsequently announced the resumption of " working-level " nuclear talks
bilateral summit between Kim and Trump
2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit
2017–18 North Korea crisis