U.S. needs clear signals N.Korea serious about talks

3^min

The United States remains open to "authentic and credible" negotiations with North Korea, but the country would first need to show it is serious about abandoning its nuclear ambitions, a White House spokesman said on Thursday.

"So far, we have not seen that," White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One. "The belligerent actions and words that we've seen emanating from the North Korean regime actually indicate the opposite."

"We're open to credible, authentic negotiations, but that's going to require clear signals from the North Korean regime, signals we haven't seen so far," Earnest said.

This comes after China said that talks are the only correct way to fix tensions on the Korean peninsula, after North Korea demanded an end to U.N. sanctions against it and a U.S. pledge not to engage in "nuclear war practice" as conditions for dialogue.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the comment at a daily news briefing.

Pyongyang's statement earlier in the day was the most explicit list of conditions for talks after weeks of tension and threats of war.

Earlier, North Korea demanded the removal of U.N. sanctions imposed for its nuclear and missile tests and a U.S. pledge not to engage in "nuclear war practice" with South Korea if Washington truly sought dialogue.

"If the United States and the puppet South have the slightest desire to avoid the sledge-hammer blow of our army and the people ... and truly wish dialogue and negotiations, they must make the resolute decision," the North's National Defense Commission said in a statement.

"Firstly, the sanctions resolutions by the U.N. Security Council that were fabricated with unjust reasons must be withdrawn," the North's top military body said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

Tension has been fuelled by North Korean anger over the imposition of U.N. sanctions after its last nuclear arms test in February, creating one of the worst periods of stress on the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953.

REUTERS/LBCI

U.S. needs 'clear signals' N.Korea serious about talks