The White House said Monday that North Korea walked away from a U.S. overture on peace talks to formally end the Korean War, with negotiations breaking down over reducing Pyongyang’s nuclear stockpile.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest confirmed that the U.S. pursued the topic prior to North Korea’s latest nuclear weapons test.
“We considered their proposal, but also made clear” that North Korea’s denuclearization would need to be a condition of the potential agreement, Mr. Earnest said.
“The truth is the North Koreans rejected that,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the Obama administration secretly agreed to talks to try to formally end the Korean War, dropping the longstanding condition that North Korea first take steps to reduce its nuclear arsenal.
Instead, the U.S. called for North Korea’s atomic-weapons program to be simply part of the talks, the paper reported. The diplomatic exchanges occurred at the United Nations before Pyongyang’s Jan. 6 nuclear test.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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