The United States was revealed to have agreed to secretive discussions with North Korea regarding a peace treaty to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War, a move that appears to deviate from Washington’s fundamental policy that honest steps toward denuclearization must come first.
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“We carefully considered their proposal, and made clear that denuclearisation had to be part of any such discussion”, he added. The law will force Mr. Kim to “make a choice between coming back to the table and ending his nuclear-weapons program or to cut off the funding for that program and for his regime”, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, a California Republican, said recently.
North Korea accuses the United States of plotting with regional allies to overthrow its government.
North Korea could be planning to carry out Isis-style “terrorists attacks” on its southern neighbour, according to the national spy agency in Seoul.
“It’s not like Iran where they have a lot of vulnerability because there’s a lot of commercial activity”, a senior US official said.
The North took special umbrage at the closure of the industrial zone, saying the decision will cost the South more than it will harm North Korea and calling the factory park a “symbol of hope that alleviates the pain of the nation resulting from division”.
The U.S. told North Korea it was willing to discuss a formal peace to replace the 63-year-old armistice that ended hostilities after the Korean War, but only if efforts to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear program were part of the discussions.
The sanctions have targeted specific North Korean institutions and people who are alleged to be involved in developing or financing the North’s weapons programs. The U.S. was willing to compromise its long held position that North Korea halt its nuclear program before any talks could occur, but did insist the nuclear issue to be part of the agenda.
The South Korean leader pointed out her country’s export drop last month and a double-digit decline in January exports to China, South Korea’s largest trading partner, as worrying factors.
Meanwhile, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said the military completed its search operations for debris from the North Korean long-range rocket that was launched into orbit February 7.
This concentration on diplomatic performance reinforced relationships with the US – assessed as being at an all-time high – as well as with China, particularly on business matters, with the effectuation of the Seoul-Beijing Free Trade Agreement.
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In response to the North’s January nuclear test, which triggered global concern and condemnation, the UN Security Council agreed to roll out new measures to punish the reclusive Asian nation.
