The United States andNorth Koreahave agreed to hold working-level talks this coming weekend, according to a report by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA published Tuesday.
The meeting would break an almost an eight-month stalemate on anuclear agreementbetween the two countries.
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Talks between US and North Korean officials stalled in February, when President Trump and Kim Jong Un walked away from their second summit in Vietnam without a deal. Kim wanted sanctions relief in exchange for partial disarmament. In the months since, North Korea has run several short-range missile tests. Trump has largely downplayed the tests, saying they haven’t violated any agreements.
Citing a statement issued by North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, KCNA reported the two countries will make preliminary contact on Friday before sitting down for working-level talks Saturday.
“The delegates of the DPRK side are ready to enter into the DPRK-U.S. working-level negotiations, ”Choe said in the statement, according toReuters. The foreign minister used North Korea’s official name, which is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“It is my expectation that the working-level negotiations would accelerate the positive development of the DPRK-U.S. relations, ”Choe said.
Last month, North Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, warned that Washington ought to offer the “right calculation method at the upcoming talks, ”Reuters reported. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in September that the U.S. was prepared to meet with North Korea to re-open discussions on a nuclear deal.
On Monday, former national security adviser John Bolton warned in a speech in Washington DC that Kim Jong Un “will never give up the nuclear weapons voluntarily.”
Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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