US Tells UN They Are Ready to Be Flexible With North Korea Talks

US envoy condemns North Korea's recent rocket tests

US negotiations with North Korea are looking less and less likely lately, but officials told the UN on Wednesday that they are willing to be “flexible” in trying to get North Korea to both denuclearize and give up all of its missiles.

It is unclear what that new US flexibility might look like, however. North Korea has long insisted that they want something in return for denuclearization, and equitable treatment at the talks.

At the same time, US Ambassador Kelly Craft criticized North Korea’s recent rocket tests as “deeply counterproductive,” a position that seems to be new for the US since President Trump insisted it didn’t bother him.

Interestingly, the US is also claiming all of those rocket launches were “ballistic missile launches,” even though none of them appears to have been, and they are arguing that the 13 tests since May were all violations, despite Trump saying they were minor matters.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.