US remains firm on NK nukes; talks with Pyongyang speculated

The United States remains firm on its commitment to denuclearize North Korea, and Washington and Seoul will cooperate with the international community to keep strong pressure and sanctions on Pyongyang to make it give up its nuclear ambitions, the foreign ministry here said Sunday.

Speculation lingers that the US might be seeking dialogue with the North as seen by a meeting between senior North Korean foreign ministry officials and former US government officials, including Robert Gallucci, who negotiated a landmark nuclear freeze deal with Pyongyang in 1994. 

They met in Kuala Lumpur on Friday and Saturday. Though it was an informal meeting, observers say that it might signal a move by the US to seek dialogue to defuse tensions on the peninsula caused by the North's repeated nuclear and missile tests.

"The US says that the latest consultation is a 'track 2' meeting that doesn't have anything to do with its government," a ministry official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the US attendees who used to be involved in Washington's North Korea affairs decades ago have no bearing on its current policy.

"With the principle that the North's denuclearization is the top priority, the US government remains firm on its position that mentioning dialogue in a hasty manner without signs of the North's willingness to give up its nuclear weapons could only end up justifying its wrong behavior," he added.

The official said it is unusual by international standards that the North sent its government officials to such informal consultations, which he believes demonstrates how desperate it has become to come out of its diplomatic isolation.

He noted that South Korea and the US will make Pyongyang feel the pinch from the isolation from the world.

"South Korea and the US will keep working closely with the international community to apply strong sanctions and pressure on the North," he said.

In September, the North conducted its fifth nuclear test despite strong condemnation and a warning in September, only eight months after its fourth carried out in January. The United Nations Security Council is working on drafting a new resolution to punish the North. (Yonhap)