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North Korea is demanding the withdrawal of U.N. sanctions and an end to joint U.S.-South Korean military drills before talks with Washington can begin.
The conditions were outlined Thursday by the North’s National Defense Commission, the country’s top military body, and carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The statement could be seen as a possible sign Pyongyang is finally ready to consider dialogue, following weeks of threats against the United States and South Korea.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters the United States is open to “credible, authentic negotiations,” but that is “going to require clear signals from the North Korean regime, signals we have not seen so far.”
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers in Washington Pyongyang’s statement seems to be a start, of sorts.
“I am prepared to look at that as at least a beginning gambit,” said Kerry. “Not acceptable, obviously, and we have to go further.”
A spokesperson, Cho Tai-young, for South Korea’s foreign ministry dismissed Pyongyang’s conditions as “absurd.”
“We again strongly urge North Korea to stop making such demands, which are hard to understand,” said Tai-young. “And we also urge them to make a wise choice, as we have repeatedly said before.”
More: http://www.voanews.com/content/nkorea-to…43893.html
2013-04-18 13:30:09
Source: http://yeoldefalseflag.com/thread-n-korea-to-us-no-talks-without-removal-of-sanctions