DPRK says US offered to resume talks in December

PYONGYANG/SEOUL－The Democratic People's Republic of Korea said on Thursday that the United States had proposed a resumption of stalled nuclear negotiations in December as they approach an end-of-year deadline set by top leader Kim Jong-un for the Trump administration to offer an acceptable deal to salvage the talks.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Myong-gil, roving ambassador of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, didn't clearly say whether Pyongyang would accept the US offer.

He said Pyongyang has no interest in talks if they are aimed at buying time without discussing solutions. The DPRK isn'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 cease-fire－or establish liaison offices in each country, he said.

"If the negotiated solution of issues is possible, we are ready to meet with the US at any place and any time," said the ambassador, who called for Washington to present a fundamental solution for discarding its "hostile policy" toward Pyongyang.

"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."

Kim Myong-gil, who was the DPRK's lead negotiator at the Stockholm talks, confirmed that Stephen Biegun, Trump's special envoy for the DPRK issue, 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 a direct contact with me, his dialogue partner, if he has any suggestions or any idea over the DPRK-US dialogue," he said of Biegun. "His behavior only amplifies doubts about the US."

AGENCIES - XINHUA