Even as a report has come out that “talks about talks” are taking place with North Korea regarding denuclearization, recent remarks by Sung Kim, the U.S. State Department’s Special Representative for North Korea Policy, seem to back up that assertion.
Kim addressed reporters at the Westin Chaoyang Hotel in Beijing last week and was asked about a media report that the U.S. offered a bilateral meeting to the North Koreans. Kim declined to specifically answer the question, but hinted that the U.S. was more than willing to meet, and that the possibility had even existed for the very trip Kim was currently taking [emphasis added]:
Kim also addressed reports about diplomatic contacts between Russia and North Korea, but expressed confidence that Russia was solidly aligned with the U.S.’s goals and policies regarding North Korea and denuclearization:
While Kim did not specify any preconditions for new talks with North Korea during the Beijing press appearance, a recent article in the Washington Post quotes an unnamed senior U.S. administration official as saying, “I think we’ve made it very clear that we would like to see them take some steps first.”
