North Korea, Seeking ‘Equal Footing,’ Rejects Preconditions for U.S. Talks
For its part, North Korea said it would not give up its nuclear weapons, arguing
that it has been driven to develop a nuclear deterrent because of American "hostility." It demanded that Washington first accept it as a nuclear power before discussing ways of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
By CHOE SANG-HUNMARCH 3, 2018
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Saturday that it would be willing to begin a dialogue with the United States on "issues of mutual concern" but
that it would not accept any preconditions for starting such talks.
North Korea, however, on Saturday said that talks needed to be based on "an equal footing between states." "The dialogue we desire is the one designed to discuss
and resolve the issues of mutual concern on an equal footing between states," the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying.
The statement came days after President Trump said on Monday
that his administration could enter talks with North Korea, but "only under the right conditions." That meant North Korea must first commit to denuclearization, United States officials have said.
North Korean said that We have intentions 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 U.S.,
President Moon Jae-in of South Korea has urged both the United States
and North Korea to soften their stances so talks could begin on defusing the crisis, which appeared to push the Korean Peninsula to the brink of war in the past year.