North Korea: New Talks If US Fully Accepts Demands

North Korea says Trump-Kim friendship not enough to base talks on

Confirming the receipt of a birthday letter for Kim Jong Un from President Trump, North Korea noted that relations between the two leaders “are not bad,” but warned that future talks would need more than just that as a basis.

North Korean officials say that actually restarting talks is possible, but would need “absolute agreement” on issues raised by North Korea previously, adding that they know the US is “neither ready nor able to do so.”

This has repeatedly been an issue, as North Korea has said they are willing to denuclearize, but has wanted to get something in return during the process. US officials have rejected this idea, and demanded North Korea fulfill all US demands first before there is any talk of consideration in return.

The failure to make this a two-way street is a big part of why talks have been stalled for so long, and North Korean officials say they don’t intend to hold talks just to give President Trump something to brag about.

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.