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S. Korea open to talks with NK if Pyongyang shows will to give up nukes: official
By YonhapPublished : Oct. 31, 2017 - 14:18
South Korea is open to talks with North Korea even before Pyongyang gives up its nuclear weapons if the North shows its commitment to denuclearization, Seoul's point man on the North said Tuesday.
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon also said in a parliamentary audit that North Korea is not currently showing any intent to have dialogue with the US, though both sides seem to be exploring the possibility of talks.
"South Korea and the US are seeking the goal of North Korea's denuclearization. But if the North's will to abandon nuclear weapons can be identified, (the South Korean government) thinks that dialogue would be possible, even before that goal (is achieved)," Cho told lawmakers.
North Korea has refrained from provocative acts for more than one month, following its firing of a missile over Japan on Sept. 15.
The absence of recent provocations has raised cautious optimism over possible dialogue between the US and the North over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
But the minister said that it is too early to say that such a hiatus is a positive signal, saying that the North is ready to make provocations at any time.
Meanwhile, Cho said that Seoul's unification ministry has no specific information to verify a report that North Korean agents who allegedly attempted to kill the son of Kim Jong-nam were arrested in China.
Special agents belonging to North Korea's reconnaissance bureau moved to Beijing to kill Kim Han-sol, but two of the seven-member group were arrested by Chinese authorities last week and are undergoing a probe, JoongAng Ilbo reported Monday.
The whereabouts of Kim Han-sol, 22, and his family have been unknown since they left their home in Macau following the death of his father.
Kim Jong-nam was killed at an airport in Kuala Lumpur on Feb. 13 after two Asian women allegedly smeared the banned VX nerve agent on his face. He was the estranged half-brother of North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un. (Yonhap)
