WASHINGTON -- The United States has no plans to meet with North Korean officials around the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the State Department said Monday, amid hopes of a breakthrough in their nuclear impasse.
North Korea plans to send high-level officials as part of a 400-member delegation to the Winter Games next month. The agreement was reached during the first inter-Korean talks in more than two years earlier this month.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in again voiced hope Monday that the current mood for inter-Korean rapprochement could lead to US-North Korea talks on curtailing Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
"We have been clear about our position on US-North Korea talks," a State Department spokesperson said in emailed comments to Yonhap. "There are no plans to meet with North Korean officials before or after the end of the Olympic games."
The spokesperson added that while the US remains open to "serious and credible" denuclearization negotiations, North Korea has shown it has no interest in such talks at this time.