Senior US diplomat says ‘no preconditions’ for North Korea talks
- Wendy Sherman condemns ballistic missile testing and affirms commitment to work with allies for denuclearisation of peninsula
- Her remarks follow two days of trilateral discussions with South Korea and Japan concerning the nuclear stand-off
“We have reached out directly to Pyongyang and stand ready to meet without preconditions, and as we have said publicly on multiple occasions, the United States does not harbour hostile intentions toward the DPRK,” Sherman said in a virtual address to the New York-based Korea Society’s annual gala, using the formal acronym for the country.
“The United States absolutely condemns the DPRK’s recent ballistic missile launches, which violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions, threaten the security of the DPRK’s neighbours and the international community and undermines global non-proliferation efforts,” she added.
“We are working closely with our allies and partners, and especially for the Republic of Korea and Japan, to monitor the situation in the DPRK, and charter a path for complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.”
Sherman’s remarks followed two days of discussions in Washington concerning the nuclear stand-off with North Korea involving the US special representative for North Korea Sung Kim; Noh Kyu-duk, South Korea’s special representative for Korean peninsula peace and security affairs; and Funakoshi Takehiro, director general for the Asian and Oceanian affairs bureau at Japan’s foreign ministry.
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North and South Korea restore communication and military hotline after 2 months of silence
The three officials “reaffirmed their commitment to working trilaterally to reduce tensions and make progress toward the shared goal of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”, the US State Department said on Tuesday.
