Pyongyang Ready for Direct Talks with the US

North Korea's UN ambassador said his government was not opposed to negotiations with the United States on issues of common concern.

Photo: Pyongyang Ready for Direct Talks with the US

"We are not against a dialogue. We are not against any negotiations on issues of common concern," Ambassador Sin Son Ho told reporters at the North Korean mission in New York, reports AFP.

However, he dismissed the possibility of Pyongyang returning to the six-party stalled nuclear talks, which involved the two Koreas, the US, Japan, China and Russia. He also denied rumours that Pyongyang would quit the United Nations in protest at its resolution 1874 which condemned Pyongyang’s second missile test on July 25. He confirmed that the DPRK is an official member of the UN.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on July 24 stressed that the Pyongyang nuclear issue should be settled through peaceful dialogues and negotiations, informs VOVNews.vn.

According to The Associated Press, last weekend, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Kurt Campbell indicated that the chances for direct talks between North Korea and the U.S. were slim. "Our bilateral negotiations are between the U.S. and South Korea about our collective approach" to the North, Campbell told reporters in Seoul.