UN envoy arrives in N. Korea amid nuclear tensions

A senior UN official arrived in North Korea on Tuesday for a rare visit aimed at defusing soaring tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, AFP reports. Jeffrey Feltman’s visit is the first by a UN diplomat of his rank since 2010. North Korea said less than a week ago that it test-fired a new ballistic missile capable of reaching the US. The UN official’s trip also comes a day after the US and South Korea launched their biggest-ever joint air exercise. The maneuvers were slammed by Pyongyang as an “all-out provocation.”