North Korea said Thursday it has “no interest” in dialogue unless Washington stops “escalating hostile military moves”, as a senior US envoy visited Seoul with an eye on reviving nuclear talks with Pyongyang.
Talks between Pyongyang and Washington have stalled since a second summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi collapsed without an agreement.
The pair met again in June in the Demilitarised Zone and agreed to restart working-level dialogue. Meanwhile, North Korea has carried out several short-range missile tests in recent weeks in protest against annual US-South Korea joint military drills that it sees as a rehearsal for invasion.
Stephen Biegun, the US special envoy for North Korea who leads the working-level talks, arrived in Seoul late Tuesday for a three-day trip, and said Washington was “prepared to engage” as soon as it hears from Pyongyang.