A senior North Korean diplomat says Pyongyang would hold talks with the US administration in the right conditions. The US State Department says it remains open to talks if it ceases "illegal activities."
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Kyodo News
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Talks between North Korea and the United States could be held if the circumstances were favorable, a senior Pyongyang diplomat said on Saturday in comments carried by South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
The director general for US affairs of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, Choe Son Hui (above photo), made the remark to reporters in Beijing on her way home from Norway, Yonhap said.
"We'll have dialogue if the conditions are there," she said.
Trump also said in an interview with Reuters in late April that he would prefer to use diplomatic means to resolve a long-running dispute with the reclusive communist state over its nuclear and missile programs, though he warned that a "major, major conflict" with the country was possible.
The US State Department said it remained open to talks with the North, but only if it would "cease all its illegal activities and aggressive behavior in the region."
"We have been clear over the past twenty years that we seek nothing but a stable and economically prosperous Korean peninsula," a spokesman told "Reuters."
Pyongyang's missile tests are heightening tensionsImage: Getty Images/AFP/J. Yeon-Je
'We'll see'
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are running high, with Pyongyang repeatedly carrying out missile tests, most recently at the end of April. Since 2006, the nation has also undertaken five atomic tests in defiance of UN and US sanctions, two of them in the past year, according to statements from Pyongyang.
In response, the US deployed a THAAD missile defense system in South Korea earlier this year, which went into operation this month.
Choe was somewhat less definite when asked whether the North was considering talks with the new government in South Korea under President Moon Jae-in, saying only: "We'll see."
Choe was in Norway for informal meetings with former US officials and scholars discussing a range of nuclear, security and bilateral issues.
Moon has struck a conciliatory toneImage: Picture-Alliance/P. Young-tae/Newsis via AP
Moon, who took office on Wednesday, has said he wants a closer and more cooperative relationship with the leadership in Pyongyang, stating that he would be willing to travel to North Korea for talks with Kim.
He said sanctions on the North should be accompanied by dialogue aimed at resolving the conflict over North Korea's weapons program, which the North says is intended to deter what it calls "US aggression."
Guns, gold and gas: What UN sanctions target North Korea?
International observers say North Korea continues to flout bans on its pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. The UN Security Council has increased sanctions on the country.
Image: Reuters/S. Sagolj
Coal and iron
In August 2017, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution banning all coal, iron, iron ore and lead imports from North Korea. Pictured here is China's Liaoning Greenland Energy Coal Co. in Dandong, on the border with North Korea.
Image: Reuters/B. Goh
Currency
North Korea is prohibited from opening banks abroad, and UN member states are prohibited from operating financial institutions on Pyongyang's behalf. Any dealings that might help North Korea skirt the sanctions are banned, and UN member states must expel and repatriate anyone working on the regime's financial behalf.
Image: Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
Shipping
This North Korean cargo ship found itself boarded for inspection in the Philippines in March 2016 after the United Nations ordered member nations to de-register any vessel owned, operated or crewed on orders from Pyongyang. North Korean ships also cannot fly the flags of other nations to evade sanctions.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/J. Dumaguing
Air travel
Air Koryo, North Korea's national carrier, remains exempt from aviation sanctions and still has scheduled flights to China and Russia, as well as several domestic routes. However, the airline cannot fly to the European Union, which has banned it on safety grounds, and the United States prevents citizens from legally conducting business with the carrier.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Yonhap
Fuel
In December 2017, a new raft of UN sanctions targeted fuel imports in North Korea, meaning its residents could have difficulties driving the country in Pyeonghwa sedans (pictured above). The sale and transfer of diesel and kerosene are limited while the import of crude oil is capped at 4 million barrels a year.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ralston
Bank accounts, real estate
UN sanctions limit North Korea's diplomats abroad — at the country's Berlin embassy, for example — to only one bank account each. North Korea is also not permitted to own real estate abroad for any purposes other than consular.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S.Schaubitzer
Military training
It's a safe bet that North Korea's marching military did not learn its moves abroad: UN sanctions ban foreign security forces from training the country's army, police or paramilitary units. The United Nations does permit medical exchanges, but otherwise allow very little assistance of scientific or technical value.
Image: Reuters/S. Sagolj
Statues
Anyone wanting to own a larger-than-life Kim will have to await the end of North Korea's nuclear program. The UN sanctions currently ban the sale of statues by the nation.
