Pence says US is prepared for direct talks with North Korea
MIKE PENCE, the US Vice-president, 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 on Air Force Two, Mr Pence retreated from Washington’s previous hard-line stance that there would be no negotiations before North Korea made real concessions on its nuclear and missile programmes, telling The Washington Post 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 de-nuclearisation,” 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 Mr Pence and the North’s delegation, which included Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un’s sister.
The new strategy was conceived while watching Olympic speed-skating heats on Saturday evening 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 stand-off with North Korea.
Ms Kim 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 1950-1953.
Dr Tony Michell, a North Korea expert from the Euro-asian Business Consultancy, said President Moon would be likely to wait until after the mid-june local elections 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, suggested Dr Michell.
Japan, Seoul’s main regional ally, has urged caution. On a trip to Brunei, Taro Kono, Japan’s 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 de-nuclearising the Korean Peninsula,” he said.