US negotiator urges direct diplomacy on NK

The chief US negotiator for North Korea said on Friday the US should engage in direct diplomacy with Pyongyang alongside sanctions imposed over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson offered on Tuesday to begin direct talks with North Korea without pre-conditions, but the White House later said no negotiations could be held until North Korea improved its behavior.

“We should exercise direct diplomacy as well as sanctions. That is our policy, which is based on pressure and engagement, and we do want to engage in pressure and diplomacy,” Joseph Yun, US Special Representative for North Korea Policy, told reporters in Bangkok.

Yun traveled to Japan and Thailand this week to meet officials to discuss ways to build pressure on North Korea after its latest ballistic missile test.

On Thursday, Yun met the head of Thailand’s National Security Council, General Wallop Rohsanoh, and deputy foreign minister Weerasak Futrakul.

“We had very constructive, open-ended discussion,” said Yun. The US had “no specific requests” for Thailand, he said.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayuth Chanocha said on Tuesday no trade takes place between Thailand and North Korea and that Thailand has abided by UN resolutions regarding North Korea.

“We had no specific requests... It seems like, as the deputy foreign minister said, they are fully complying with UN resolutions,” Yun told reporters.

Thailand’s ties with North Korea have been in the spotlight this year. Tillerson pressed Thailand, the US’ oldest ally in Asia, for more action on North Korea during a visit to Bangkok in August.

The Kremlin said on Friday that President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump had agreed in a phone call to exchange information about North Korea and cooperate on possible initiatives to resolve a crisis around the Asian nation.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Putin and Trump had also spoken about establishing contacts with North Korea.

The two men had also talked about improving dialogue between Russia and the US, Peskov said.