U.S. envoy hopes for 'positive' N. Korea dialogue
Days after North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un said to prepare for confrontation but also dialogue with the United States, on Monday the new top U.S. envoy to Pyongyang, Sung Kim, said he hopes for a "positive response soon" on talks with the North.
Ambassador Kim is in South Korea for a five-day visit, as denuclearization talks with Pyongyang have stalled.
"We are still waiting to hear back from Pyongyang on our proposal for a meeting. Hopefully, Chairman Kim's reference to dialogue indicates that we will get a positive response soon."
In the meantime, Kim said the U.S. will continue to enforce UN Security Council resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea, and urged other countries to do the same.
Kim, who doubles as ambassador to Indonesia, held back-to-back meetings with South Korea's top nuclear envoy, Noh Kyu-duk, as well as trilateral talks with Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi.
His appointment came after the Biden administration announced it would seek "calibrated and practical" ways of prompting Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons.
Washington said Sunday it saw Kim Jong Un's latest comments as an "interesting signal," but added they were still waiting for direct communication from Pyongyang regarding denuclearization.
