South Korea says the North is willing to talk to the United States to improve inter-Korean relations
Pyongyang had agreed that a conversation with America must be kept open, the Blue House in Seoul said.
South Korea on Sunday said Pyongyang was willing to hold talks with the United States. The announcement came after North Korean leader Kim Yong Chol (pictured above) met South Korean President Moon Jae-in ahead of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka is also attending the ceremony.
In a statement, South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Moon had pointed out the urgent need to hold a dialogue between America and Pyongyang to improve inter-Korean relations. The Blue House said North Korea had agreed that a conversation with America must be kept open.
On Friday, Washington had announced a set of fresh sanctions against North Korea. The United States Department of Treasury had called its action the “largest North Korea-related sanctions tranche to date”. Pyongyang had described the fresh sanctions as an “act of war”.
US-North Korea ties
Tensions between the North Korean regime, led by Kim Jong-un, and the United States escalated in 2017 after Pyongyang stepped up its nuclear efforts. Donald Trump had warned North Korea a number of times against boosting its nuclear weapons programme. The two leaders frequently traded ridicule, insults and threats at each other.
In July 2017, Pyongyang twice launched a long-range missile that could potentially reach the US mainland. In September 2017, it conducted its sixth atomic explosion and in November 2017, North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly the country’s longest-range test yet. It claimed this one had the capability to reach all of America.