US Special Representative Sung Kim says Washington expects Pyongyang to give a positive assessment of the US offer to resume dialogue, but at the same time confrontation is not excluded
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st June, 2021) US Special Representative Sung Kim says Washington expects Pyongyang to give a positive assessment of the US offer to resume dialogue, but at the same time confrontation is not excluded.
On Friday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country needed to be ready for both dialogue and confrontation with the new US administration.
Speaking after a meeting with South Korean Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs Noh Kyu-duk, Representative Kim said on Monday that "in what concerns the recent statement by Kim Jong Un on dialogue and confrontation, we will be ready for both the former and the latter, because, as you know, we are still waiting for a reply from Pyongyang on our offer to hold a meeting."
Kim added that the fact that the North Korean leader did mention dialogue in his remarks means that Washington will get a "positive response" soon.
Representative Noh Kyu-duk said that South Korea was prepared to do everything necessary in order to facilitate the resumption of dialogue with North Korea in coordination with Washington.
Later in the day, Lee Jong-joo, spokesperson for the South Korean Ministry of Unification, confirmed that Seoul hopes that the dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, as well as inter-Korean dialogue, can be revived soon, and said that the South will continue to monitor the North's position on the issue.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Sunday that the US was ready to negotiate with North Korea on its nuclear program, waiting for a "clearer" signal from Pyongyang. The US official stressed that "there is no substitute for diplomacy" to make progress towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
In May, US President Joe Biden expressed willingness to meet with Kim if he consented to denuclearization.
