The diplomatic discussions took place prior to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and rocket launch that have further strained relations.
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“U.S. Allies Step Up Pressure on North Korea” is categorized as “world”.
The leader of the relatives’ group, Shigeo Iizuka, said they regarded 2015 as a decisive year for resolving the issue, but no progress was made.
But Beijing, North Korea’s most important economic sponsor, remains reluctant to impose harsh measures that could cripple its impoverished neighbour.
Skeptics, including those within the Obama administration, say North Korea is different from Iran because its decades of isolation limits the power of sanctions.
US State Department spokesman John Kirby on Sunday claimed that the proposal to negotiate a peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula came from North Korea.
“We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearisation had to be part of any such discussion”, he added. “Our response to the North Korean proposal was consistent with our longstanding focus on denuclearization”.
The isolated state has long sought a peace treaty with the United States and other parties in the 1950-53 Korean War, as well as an end to military exercises by South Korea and the United States, which has about 28,500 troops based in South Korea.
Both the United States and South Korea hold annual military drills to prepare for a possible attack from North Korea. South Korea’s exports posted the biggest monthly decline in more than six years in January with an 18.5 percent reduction.
They declared their latest “satellite launch” (a disguised test of ICBM technology) and “H-bomb test” (which probably was not a fully functional hydrogen bomb) as “successes” that “startled our planet” and proved too much for the poor old South Korean president to handle: “writhing and wriggling, she sits up all night, spouting rubbish, invectives and vituperation”.
North Korea says it is boosting defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.
Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi proposed to move forward with the denuclearization of North Korea in tandem with transitioning from an armistice to a peace treaty.
The U.S. and North Korea agreed in 2005 with other nations including Japan and South Korea that set the groundwork for talks premised on denuclearization. Within weeks, senior administration officials said, the regime repeated the message thorough its mission to the United Nations.
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The White House, however, sees attempts at peace futile and fruitless due to North Korea’s being more uncooperative and obstinate.
