N. Korea urges US to hold dialogue without strings

North Korea on Saturday urged the US to hold dialogue without any precondition.

A dialogue with Washington is possible, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement, Xinhua reported.

"It is the consistent and principled position of Pyongyang to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation," the Korean Central News Agency quoted the official as saying.

The spokesperson said North Korea wants dialogue "designed to discuss and resolve the issue of mutual concern on an equal footing between states."

"In the decades-long history of the North Korea-US talks, there has been no case at all where we sat with the US with any precondition, and this will be the case in future too," he said.

However, while Pyongyang intends to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way, it will "neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the US," he said.

Dismissing the United States putting denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue as "more than ridiculous", he claimed Washington is "terrified" at the rapid development of Pyongyang's nuclear force.

According to media reports, a high-level North Korea delegation in South Korea said last week that Pyongyang is leaving the door open for dialogue with the US.

However, Washington says it will not have dialogue with Pyongyang unless "a right condition is met" and will keep watching to see if Pyongyang has any intention to abandon its nuclear and missile program.

--IANS

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