nuclear-news

US-North Korea nuclear talks may stir back to life, SMH, 15 Nov 19, Seoul: North Korea is unhappy the United States has proposed a resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations next month through a third party.It comes as the two countries approach an end-of-year deadline set by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the Trump administration to offer an acceptable deal to salvage the talks, and as the US President faces an impeachment inquiry at home.

In a statement released by state media, new North Korean negotiator Kim Myong-gil didn’t clearly say whether the North would accept the supposed US offer.

Kim Myong-gil said Stephen Biegun, Trump’s special envoy for North Korea, proposed via an unspecified third country to hold another round of talks in December.

“I cannot understand why he spreads the so-called idea of DPRK-US relations through the third party, not thinking of candidly making direct contact with me, his dialogue partner, if he has any suggestions or any idea over the DPRK-US dialogue,” Kim Myong-gil said of Biegun. “His behaviour only amplifies doubts about the US.”

He said North Korea had no interest in talks if they were aimed at buying time without discussing solutions. He said the North wasn’t willing to make a deal over “matters of secondary importance”, such as possible US offers to formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which was halted by a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, or establish a liaison office between the countries.

If the negotiated solution of issues is possible, we are ready to meet with the US at any place and any time,” said Kim Myong-gil, who called for Washington to present a fundamental solution for discarding its “hostile policy” towards North Korea.

“If the US still seeks a sinister aim of appeasing us in a bid to pass the time limit – the end of this year – with ease as it did during the DPRK-US working-level negotiations in Sweden early in October, we have no willingness to have such negotiations,” he said, using the abbreviation of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea……

In a separate statement attributed to another senior official, North Korea demanded that the US scrap a planned military drill with South Korea to keep the momentum alive for dialogue.

Responding to comments by US Defence Secretary Mark Esper, who said Washington could possibly modify its military activities with Seoul to make room for diplomacy, North Korean official Kim Yong-chol said he would like to consider Esper’s remarks as US intention to “drop out of the joint military drill or completely stop it.” ……..https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/us-north-korea-nuclear-talks-may-stir-back-to-life-20191115-p53ayr.html