N. Korea denies sanctions prompted diplomatic thaw; South proposes three-way summit
SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea has broken its silence on the diplomatic thaw with Washington and Seoul, saying it is driving the ‘’peace offensive’’ and rejecting suggestions that sanctions forced it to the negotiating table.
The commentary from the state-run KCNA news agency came with a rapid rapprochement on the Korean peninsula under way, after a period of heightened tensions stoked by missile and nuclear tests.
In order to prepare an inter-Korean summit scheduled for late April, South Korea on Wednesday proposed holding high-level talks with the North next week to discuss details including the summit’s dates and agenda.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in Moon on Wednesday said a three-way summit including the two Koreas and the US could be possible, depending on the outcomes of the inter-Korean and US-North Korean summits.
‘’We must completely resolve the issues of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and establishing peace,’’ he said.
The South proposed sending a threemember delegation including chief delegate, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, to the border truce village of Panmunjom for talks Thursday next week to pave the way for the inter-Korean summit, the presidential Blue House said.
But as diplomats scurry to arrange the North-South talks -- and a mooted face-to-face meet between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un - the North’s silence had raised concerns over its intentions.
The KCNA commentary late Tuesday did not directly mention the summits but noted the ‘’dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation’’ with the South and ‘’a sign of change’’ with the US.
It said Pyongyang’s overtures came from a position of strength, not from weakness, even as it confronts intense international pressure as well as biting economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.
‘’The dialogue peace offensive of the DPRK is an expression of self-confidence as it has acquired everything it desires,’’ it said, using the North’s official name.