US ready for N Korea talks - Pence
SOUTH KOREA: United States Vice-President Mike Pence has raised the prospect of direct talks without preconditions between Washington and North Korea, while continuing to impose tough sanctions on the Pyongyang regime.
His remarks follow widespread criticism of his failure to engage with the North Korean delegation at the opening of the Winter Olympics in South Korea at the weekend, which analysts described as a squandered opportunity.
As he flew out of Seoul yesterday on Air Force Two, Pence retreated from Washington’s previous hardline stance that there would be no negotiations before North Korea made real concessions on its nuclear and missile programmes, saying that talks could start despite the sanctions.
‘‘The point is, no pressure comes off until they are actually doing something that the alliance believes represents a meaningful step toward denuclearisation,’’ he said.
‘‘So the maximum pressure is going to continue and intensify. But if you want to talk, we’ll talk.’’
The change in policy suggests real progress was made on the sidelines of the Olympic Games, despite the overt chilliness between Pence and the North Korean delegation, which included Kim Yo-jong, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s sister.
The new strategy was conceived while watching Olympic speed skating heats on Sunday with Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, whose government is considering an invitation from Kim Jong-un to attend a rare summit in Pyongyang.
The invitation, hand-delivered by Kim Yo-jong during a lunch at the presidential palace, has revived hopes of an end to a tense international standoff with North Korea.
Kim Yo-jong appeared to charm South Korea’s media with her near-permanent smile while conducting a whirlwind round of diplomacy as the first member of the Kim dynasty to visit the South since the Korean War of 1950-53.
Dr Tony Michell, a North Korea expert from the Euro-Asian Business Consultancy, said Moon would be likely to wait until after local elections in mid-June if he decided to go to Pyongyang.
‘‘He has some time, and the real question is how far can he modify the American line to allow meaningful talks to take place,’’ he said.
One negotiating option could be a ‘‘freeze for a freeze’’, where North Korea would put its nuclear and missile tests on hold in exchange for the scaling down of joint US and South Korean military drills, Michell suggested.
Japan, Seoul’s main regional ally, has urged caution. On a trip to Brunei, Taro Kono, the Japanese foreign minister, warned that Pyongyang remained committed to its nuclear and missile development programme.
‘‘Without being swayed by [North Korea’s] smile diplomacy, Japan will firmly co-ordinate with [the US and South Korea] towards the ultimate goal of denuclearising the Korean Peninsula,’’ he said.
Pence said he was ‘‘encouraged’’ by his talks with Moon, insisting that Moon’s outreach to North Korea had not undermined bilateral relations with the US.
‘‘There is no daylight between the United States and the Republic of Korea and Japan on the need to continue to isolate North Korea economically and diplomatically until they abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile programme,’’ he said.
‘‘My message in meeting with leaders of both of those countries is that we are going to continue to stand together along with our other allies and partners to continue to intensify the economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea.’’
– Telegraph Group, Bloomberg