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Trump hints at talks with North Korea under right conditions

Iran Press TV

Mon Feb 26, 2018 04:55PM

President Donald Trump has given a cautious response to North Korea's offer of being open to negotiate with the United States, saying talks would only occur under "the right conditions."

"We have been very tough with them," Trump said at a meeting with governors at the White House on Monday, after Pyongyang signaled its willingness to return to the negotiating table.

"So they want to talk" the president. "We'll see what happens."

However, Trump did not elaborate on what he meant by the right conditions.

Trump claimed that China had done more to contain North Korea than ever following requests from his administration.

The president also indicated that a lot of commodities were entering North Korea via Russia, despite sanctions on Pyongyang.

The North Korean delegation, in Pyeongchang for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics, expressed a willingness to meet with US officials, according to a statement by the office of South Korea's president.

The delegation said developments in relations between the two Koreas and between Pyongyang and Washington should go hand in hand.

On Friday, Trump announced what he called the "largest ever" tranche of sanctions against North Korea, in an attempt to increase pressure on the nuclear-armed country.

"Today I am announcing that we are launching the largest-ever set of new sanctions on the North Korean regime," he said.

The White House subsequently said efforts at sanctions would continue.

"We will see if Pyongyang's message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization," it said in a statement.

"In the meantime, the United States and the world must continue to make clear that North Korea's nuclear and missile programs are a dead end," it added.

North Korea condemned the latest sanctions as "an act of war," accusing the US administration of trying to undermine the thaw in inter-Korean relations triggered by the Olympic games in the South.

The Trump administration claims it prefers a diplomatic solution to the crisis, but it has repeatedly threatened Pyongyang with military action.

North Korea has vowed to keep up the development of its weapons programs as a deterrent against US aggression.