UN official says 'door ajar' to DPRK talks

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United Nations political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman said on Tuesday that senior Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials agreed on the need to prevent war but made no commitment to dialogue during his visit to Pyongyang last week.

Nevertheless, Feltman said he felt the the door was left "ajar" to talks in remarks he made shortly after US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered to meet DPRK officials without preconditions.

“Let’s just meet,” Tillerson said in a speech to Washington think tank the Atlantic Council on Tuesday.

Feltman, the highest-level UN official to visit the DPRK since 2011, met with Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho and Vice Minister Pak Myong Guk during a four-day visit that he described as "the most important mission I have ever undertaken."

Pak Myong Guk, vice minister of foreign affairs of the DPRK, and UN under-secretary-general Jeffrey Feltman at a meeting in Pyongyang. /Reuters Photo

"Time will tell what was the impact of our discussions, but I think we have left the door ajar and I fervently hope that the door to a negotiated solution will now be opened wide," Feltman told reporters after briefing the UN Security Council behind closed doors on his visit.

"They need time to digest and consider how they will respond to our message," he said, adding that he believed Ri would brief DPRK leader Kim Jong Un on their discussions.

Tillerson offered on Tuesday to begin direct talks with the DPRK without preconditions, backing away from US demands that Pyongyang must first accept that any negotiations would have to be about giving up its nuclear arsenal.

While reiterating Washington’s long-standing position that it cannot tolerate a nuclear-armed DPRK, Tillerson said the United States was “ready to talk any time they’re ready to talk,” but that Pyongyang must come to the table willing to make choices to change its course.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers remarks on the US-DPRK relationship during a forum at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Tuesday. /Reuters Photo

“We can talk about the weather if you want. We can talk about whether it’s going to be a square table or a round table,” he said.

Feltman said he asked the DPRK to signal that it was prepared to consider engagement like possible "talks about talks" and to open "technical channels of communication, such as the military-to-military hotline, to reduce risks, to signal intentions, to prevent misunderstandings and manage any crisis."

"They listened seriously to our arguments ... They did not offer any type of commitment to us at that point," said Feltman. "They agreed it was important to prevent war ... How we do that was the topic of 15-plus hours of discussions."

He said the United Nations could act as a facilitator.

The DPRK is pursuing nuclear and missile weapons programs in defiance of UN sanctions and international condemnation. On November 29, it test-fired it said was its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile yet, capable of reaching the mainland United States.

Feltman described his visit as "constructive and productive" and said the DPRK agreed to continue a dialogue. "The people who we met listened carefully to our arguments, they explored our thinking, they asked questions, they argued with us, but ultimately they have to take what we said and talk about it internally, talk about it with their leadership," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)