North Korea-US Peace Talks: Pyongyang Rejects Preconditions For Starting Discussions

Following President Donald Trump’s recent comment that North Korea has reached out to the United States for dialogue, Pyongyang on Sunday said it was willing for talks but “will neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the U.S.”

North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, in a statement released Sunday, said the U.S. was "taking preposterous action by continuing to trumpet an insistence that it will not have dialogue unless a right condition is met and that it will keep watching if we have intention to abandon nuclear weapons and missiles and so on."

It may be noted that Trump, during a dinner with journalists in Washington on Saturday, said, "Now we’re talking. They (North Korea) called up a couple of days ago and said, 'We would like to talk.' And I said, 'So would we, but you have to de-nuke. You have to de-nuke.' So let's see what happens. Let's see what happens."

He also hinted at the possibility of direct talks with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, but said it would happen only if the isolated nation abandons its nuclear weapons program.

However, North Korea, in its statement said, the U.S. "insists that it will have dialogue only for making the DPRK abandon nuclear weapons and persist in ‘maximum pressure’ until complete denuclearization is realized. This is really more than ridiculous."

“We have clarified our position that a dialogue with the U.S. will be possible. The US attitude shown after we clarified our intention in resuming the DPRK-US dialogue compels us to only think that the US is not interested in resuming the DPRK-US dialogue," it added.

Stating the U.S. should not misjudge its position, it said, “We have full capability and will to confront any option favored by the U.S. Whether peace desired by our nation and the rest of the world settles on the Korean peninsula or a situation that no one desires is developed in the vicious cycle of confrontation depends entirely on the attitude of the U.S."

Meanwhile, in an attempt to encourage talks between the U.S. and North Korea, a high-level delegation led by senior South Korean security officials will be in Pyongyang on Monday afternoon as part of a 2-day visit.

The 10-member team, sent by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, will be headed by South Korea National Security Adviser Chung Eui-yong and National Intelligence Service Chief Suh Hoon. Apart from holding discussions on possible U.S.-North Korea talks, the delegation will also discuss inter-Korean relations during its meeting with Pyongyang officials. Moon’s decision comes after a phone conversation with Trump on Thursday.

“Special envoys to the North is in reciprocation to Kim Jong Un's special envoy Kim Yo Jong's visit to the South," said Yoon Young-chan, chief presidential press secretary at a media briefing. “The team will later travel to Washington to discuss the result of the meeting.”

Reports earlier said the special envoys would also discuss the release of U.S. citizen-detainees in North Korea during their trip. However, South Korea’s presidential office denied it Monday. According to a senior official, the topic was not the theme of the trip, South Korean television channel KBS World reported.