North Korea Rules Out Negotiations On Nuclear Weapons

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Second Plenum of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang October 8, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS

Reuters: Exclusive: North Korea rules out negotiations on nuclear weapons

GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea on Friday ruled out negotiations with Washington as long as joint U.S-South Korea military exercises continue, and said that Pyongyang’s atomic weapons program would remain as a deterrent against a U.S. nuclear threat.

In an interview with Reuters, Han Tae Song, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, brushed off the new sanctions which the Trump administration has said it is preparing, as well as the possibility of North Korea being added to a U.S. list of states sponsoring terrorism.

South Korea and the United States agreed on Friday to keep working for a peaceful end to the North Korean nuclear crisis, but a U.S. envoy said it was difficult to gauge the reclusive North’s intentions as there has been “no signal”.

Han, asked about those bilateral talks in Seoul, replied: “As long as there is continuous hostile policy against my country by the U.S. and as long as there are continued war games at our doorstep, then there will not be negotiations.”

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Update: North Korea On Nuclear Weapons Program: ‘There Will Not Be Negotiations’ (IBTimes)

WNU Editor: When the North Koreans ignore you, that is their signal .... U.S. envoy says no communication, no signal from North Korea amid nuclear crisis (Reuters). But is should also be noted that North Korea's leadership is more focused on this right now rather than talking to the U.S. .... Top-level Chinese envoy arrives in North Korea for the first time in years (AP).