Pyongyang without USA Official Says That North Korean Policy Remain same after Nuclear remark raises eyebrows:

 

The United States said on Friday that its foreign policy towards North Korea had not changed and remained the same after a US official responsible for nuclear policy raised some eyebrows by saying Washington would be willing to engage in arms-control peace talks with North Corea Government Officials.

 

Some senior experts argue that recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-armed state, something Pyongyang seeks is a prerequisite for such talks. But Washington has long time claimed that the North Korean nuclear program is illegal and is subject to UN sanctions.

WASHINGTON: After a top US official in charge of nuclear policy raised some questions by stating that Washington would be open to holding talks with Pyongyang about arms control, the US reiterated on Friday its position towards North Korea had not changed.

 

According to some experts, the existence of nuclear weapons, which Pyongyang craves, is a requirement for such negotiations. Washington, though, has long maintained that North Korea's nuclear program is unconstitutional and subject to UN penalties.

 

 

There are other types of weapons control we may also engage in with them before signing a regular arms control treaty with him. We have made it very plain to the DPRK that we are willing to speak with them and do not have any requirements "She said, using the initials of North Korea's official name.

 

She said, referring to Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea: "We wouldn't say no if he picked up the phone and said, "I want to talk about arms limitation." If anything, I believe we should investigate what that entails."

 

 This would be highly unwelcome. US requests for North Korea to resume negotiations were denied.

 

 

Ned Price, a spokesman for the State Department, responded to Jenkins' comment as follows: "In this regard, I want to be very clear. The US's foreign strategy has not changed."

 

 

 

 

Jenkins had "fallen straight into Kim Jong Un's trap" with her comments, according to Daniel Russel, the chief US ambassador for East Asia under former President Barack Obama and currently at the Asia Society.

 

 the official said. "It shifts the debate from North Korea's right to possess nuclear weapons to the issue of how many it should have and how they are used."

 

 She admitted, as have other government officials, that North Korea does possess nuclear weapons, but that it is also violating its NPT obligations not to pursue nuclear weapons, he told Reuters.

Kimball and Toby Dalton, a nuclear expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the organization that organized the atomic conference, stated that they did not consider formal recognition as a nuclear-armed state as a requirement for arms-control discussions. Jenkins, according to Dalton, seemed to be effectively restating the US position that it was ready to speak with restrictions.