Pressure mounts as N. Korea, U.S. yet to schedule stalled talks
- 5 years ago
잡히지 않는 북미 고위급,실무 회담... 비건 "北 협상에 계속 응하지 않으면 기회의 창 닫힐 것"
Working-level talks between Pyeongyang and Washington may not happen.
According to a U.S. official, the North has not responded to proposals to reschedule other, high-level talks that need to happen first... but have been postponed.
Top American officials seem to believe that the regime needs to make an effort before the "window of opportunity" closes.
Lee Ji-won tells us more.
Talks between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart have been postponed already, and now working-level talks between the two sides seem to be falling apart too.
Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday that, according to a former senior U.S. official, Washington's special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, was going to attend working-level talks with North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui, in mid-December.
The former official said that Biegun had even cleared out his schedule the second week of December for that meeting... amid hopes that the high-level talks between Secretary Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart would be rescheduled to sometime in late November.
There were reports that the U.S. had proposed holding the high-level talks toward the end of November but never heard back from Pyeongyang.
And according to the former official, there is no meeting scheduled with the North as of now... and unless the situation changes, it'd be hard for the working-level meeting to take place in December.
Observers say that the North and the U.S. are in a tug-of-war over the lifting of sanctions and over concrete steps toward denuclearization,... but that they need to make sure they don't lose the momentum for dialogue.
The Seoul-based paper JoongAng Ilbo reported Wednesday... that in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart earlier this month,... Biegun said... the "window of opportunity" for the nuclear talks is closing... if the North continues to be ambiguous, referring to Pyeongyang's silence about rescheduling the high-level talks.
Citing a U.S. official, the paper reported that Biegun also said... that because of growing pressure on those in the U.S. who want dialogue with the North, and with the Democrats taking over the lower house of Congress, the Trump administration cannot sit idly by.
The administration has been emphasizing how there is no timeframe for North Korea's denuclearization, but watchers say Biegun seems to hint that dragging out the negotiations won't do any good.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.
Working-level talks between Pyeongyang and Washington may not happen.
According to a U.S. official, the North has not responded to proposals to reschedule other, high-level talks that need to happen first... but have been postponed.
Top American officials seem to believe that the regime needs to make an effort before the "window of opportunity" closes.
Lee Ji-won tells us more.
Talks between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart have been postponed already, and now working-level talks between the two sides seem to be falling apart too.
Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday that, according to a former senior U.S. official, Washington's special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, was going to attend working-level talks with North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui, in mid-December.
The former official said that Biegun had even cleared out his schedule the second week of December for that meeting... amid hopes that the high-level talks between Secretary Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart would be rescheduled to sometime in late November.
There were reports that the U.S. had proposed holding the high-level talks toward the end of November but never heard back from Pyeongyang.
And according to the former official, there is no meeting scheduled with the North as of now... and unless the situation changes, it'd be hard for the working-level meeting to take place in December.
Observers say that the North and the U.S. are in a tug-of-war over the lifting of sanctions and over concrete steps toward denuclearization,... but that they need to make sure they don't lose the momentum for dialogue.
The Seoul-based paper JoongAng Ilbo reported Wednesday... that in a meeting with his South Korean counterpart earlier this month,... Biegun said... the "window of opportunity" for the nuclear talks is closing... if the North continues to be ambiguous, referring to Pyeongyang's silence about rescheduling the high-level talks.
Citing a U.S. official, the paper reported that Biegun also said... that because of growing pressure on those in the U.S. who want dialogue with the North, and with the Democrats taking over the lower house of Congress, the Trump administration cannot sit idly by.
The administration has been emphasizing how there is no timeframe for North Korea's denuclearization, but watchers say Biegun seems to hint that dragging out the negotiations won't do any good.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.