Kim met with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu Duk, to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests as nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled.
At a joint press conference after the meeting, Kim also called on the North Korean (DPRK) authorities to stop their ballistic tests, which he considers “worrying and counterproductive,” reported South Korean news agency Yonhap.
“We call on the DPRK to cease these provocations and other destabilizing activities and instead engage in dialogue. We remain ready to meet with the DPRK without preconditions and have made it clear that the United States does not harbor any hostile intent towards the DPRK.” said the envoy from Washington.
Last Tuesday, North Korea recently fired a ballistic missile from a submarine, in what was its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks, something the United States called “provocation.”
For the United States, Tuesday’s launch violated multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions banning any North Korean activity in the ballistic missile area.
South Korean officials said the fired missile appeared to be in an early stage of development.
The test was North Korea’s first submarine launch since October 2019, and the most prominent since the US president, Joe Biden, took office in January.
Even so, Kim assured that his country is willing to address issues such as humanitarian cooperation with North Korea, with the aim of helping North Koreans in vulnerable situations.
US-led talks to end North Korea’s nuclear program have been mostly stalled since early 2019, when a summit between the then-president Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un collapsed over disputes over U.S. sanctions on North Korea.
The Biden administration was repeatedly ready to meet with North Korea “anywhere, anytime” without preconditions.
However, North Korea indicated that a return to the talks was conditional on the United States abandoning what it calls hostile policy, referring to sanctions and regular military drills between Washington and Seoul.
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