North Korea Does Not Care About Using European Back-Channels

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un makes a statement regarding U.S. President Donald Trump's speech at the U.N. general assembly, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang September 22, 2017. KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo

Reuters: EU's diplomatic back channel in Pyongyang goes cold

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - While European powers France and Britain are lobbying Washington to cool tensions since North Korea’s most powerful nuclear test a month ago, EU nations with embassies in Pyongyang are directly pressing the North Koreans.

A group of seven European Union countries - the Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as Britain and Germany - held at least two formal meetings with North Korean officials in Pyongyang in September, three EU diplomats said.

But they felt frustrated because the higher-level access that they had obtained in Pyongyang last year had fallen away, with only medium-ranking foreign ministry officials now attending the meetings, the diplomats said.

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WNU Editor: The whole purpose of these European missions in North Korea is to act as back-channels .... but they have been ignored for the past year. Aside from the rhetoric and from what China and Russia are saying .... this is just more evidence to me that North Korea has made a decision not to enter into any serious negotiations.