Representatives from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, South Korea and the United States have started an unofficial meeting in Helsinki. Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said denuclearization was not on the agenda. No media was allowed to enter the property, which was blanketed by snow.

A convoy of cars was seen leaving the 19th Century government manor in a forest near Helsinki on Tuesday. The DPRK is represented by the Foreign Ministry official responsible for relations with the US, Choe Kang Il. The talks come amid a series of diplomatic encounters ahead of a possible US-DPRK summit. Pyongyang is pursuing its nuclear and missile programs in defiance of UN Security Council sanctions. It's made no secret of its plans to develop a missile capable of hitting the US mainland.