Washington, August 20: A top US official claims that North Korea has called for fresh negotiations on its nuclear program and called for direct talks with the US.
“They (North Koreans) want a new format. And the format they want is direct talks with the United States. Now, maybe a compromise might be some kind of direct talks within the six-party format, but, again, this is something that diplomats should negotiate,” New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson told CNN on Wednesday.
Following rare talks with North Korean diplomats in New Mexico, Richardson added that Washington should decide whether to accept Pyongyang’s proposal for two-way talks or keep up with the 6-party negotiations.
So far, the US has refused bilateral talks with North Korea, saying negotiations on the country’s nuclear drive are possible only within the context of the six-party negotiation.
However, Pyongyang abandoned six-party talks and vowed to restart its nuclear program in April after the UN Security Council slammed a long-range missile test by the North.
The senior US official believes that Pyongyang moved to free two US journalists in its custody recently, and now they felt it was up to the US President Barack Obama to make the next move.
“The North Koreans obviously used the journalists as a bargaining chip and now they want a gesture in return. What I believe they want in return is, all right, the US is now ready to talk to us directly,” he added.
—–Agencies