DPRK slams US for attaching precondition for talks

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday slammed the US for attaching preconditions to any dialogue between the two countries, as Seoul prepares to send an envoy to Pyongyang to help open talks on easing the nuclear stand-off on the peninsula.

A spokesperson for the DPRK's Foreign Ministry said a dialogue with the US is "possible," but added that Pyongyang is open to talks only "on an equal footing" and will not give up its nuclear and missile programs to come to the table.

In the decades-long history of the talks between US and DPRK, "there had been no case at all where we sat with the US on any precondition, and this will be the case in future too," the spokesperson said.

Reuters Photo‍

"We have intention to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation, but we will neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US," he said.

The US however says it must first take concrete steps toward disarming, and has ruled out any possibility of talks before Pyongyang – which last year staged multiple missile and nuclear tests – moves towards denuclearization.

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Seoul said it is preparing to send an envoy to Pyongyang to help open talks on easing the nuclear stand-off. The warming ties saw the DPRK and ROK march into the PyeongChang Winter Olympics opening ceremony together behind a unification flag, and Seoul's President Moon Jae-in share a historic handshake with Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong.

Moon, who has sought to use the Winter Olympics to open dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang, said on Monday that Washington needs to "lower the threshold for talks" with the DPRK.

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Source(s): AFP