FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/SOUTH KOREA: “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a visiting South Korean delegation that he was willing to hold talks with the U.S. about giving up nuclear weapons and normalizing relations with Washington, officials in Seoul said Tuesday [3-6-18].
During meetings in Pyongyang, Mr. Kim, who has conducted a series of missile launches over the past year, signaled a ‘clear intent to pursue denuclearization’ if the security of North Korea and his regime are guaranteed, said Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s national security advisor. He said the North pledged to halt weapons tests during any negotiations.
Mr. Kim also said he would be willing to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April, in what would be the third-ever summit between leaders of the two Koreas, Mr. Chung said.
North Korea’s government issued no statement of its own on Tuesday… Pyongyang has previously said its arsenal isn’t open for discussion. But Mr. Chung said Mr. Kim told the envoys from Seoul that North Korea had no need for such arms ‘as long as the military threat to North Korea is eliminated and the security of the regime is guaranteed,’ Mr. Chung said… Previous rounds of negotiations with North Korea, some lasting years, have all failed to persuade Pyongyang to change course as it has worked to advance its ability to strike the U.S. with nuclear weapons. As recently as a few months ago, North Korea warned it was contemplating a missile attack aimed at the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.
Washington has long said it is only willing to sit down for serious negotiations with North Korea if it is to talk about an end to the country’s nuclear-weapons programs.”
-Jonathan Cheng and Andrew Jeong, “North Korea Says It Is Open to Talks With U.S. About Abandoning Nuclear Weapons,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 6, 2018 09:53am