SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior North Korean diplomat on Tuesday said North Korea and the United States have agreed to resume nuclear negotiations on Oct. 5 following a monthslong stalemate over the withdrawal of sanctions in exchange for disarmament.
Choe Son-hui, North Korea’s first vice minister of foreign affairs, said North Korea and the United States will have a preliminary contact on Oct. 4 before holding working-level talks on Oct. 5.
In a statement released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, Choe expressed optimism over the outcome of the meeting but did not say where it would take place.
“It is my expectation that the working-level negotiations would accelerate the positive development of the DPRK-U.S. relations,” Choe said in the statement, using an abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Nuclear negotiations have been at a standstill for months following a February summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Trump in Vietnam, which broke down after the U.S. side rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for partially surrendering its nuclear capabilities.
North Korea followed the summit with belligerent rhetoric and a slew of short-range weapons tests that were widely seen as an attempt to gain leverage ahead of a possible resumption of negotiations.
Choe’s announcement came after North Korea praised Trump last month for suggesting that Washington may pursue an unspecified “new method” in nuclear negotiations with the North. North Korea also has welcomed Trump’s decision to fire hawkish former National Security Adviser John R Bolton, who advocated a “Libya model” of unilateral denuclearization as a template for North Korea.
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