The United States sees no difference between North Korea's latest offer of bilateral talks and its previous ones because a sincere intent is apparently lacking about denuclearization, the State Department said Monday.
It emphasized that the international community has been very consistent and clear that Pyongyang should verifiably end its nuclear program and engage in "authentic and credible negotiations that produce concrete denuclearizataion actions."
"So is it different than that? No," department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said at a press briefing. "We haven't seen evidence of that."
Psaki said Washington is still waiting for clear signs that Pyongyang has changed its course.
The Barack Obama administration consistently has said it is willing to talk with the communist nation. Last year, the U.S. had high-level negotiations with North Korea, which yielded the so-called Leap Day deal. The North agreed to suspend uranium
enrichment at a Yongbyon plant and impose a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests in return for the shipment of 240,000 tons of food.
Less than two months later, however, the North fired a long-range rocket, claiming the purpose was to put a satellite into orbit. The launch violated U.N. Security Council resolutions that prohibit the nation from any launch using ballistic missile technology.
Psaki said Washington remains open to bilateral talks with Pyongyang only in the context of the six-way nuclear negotiations involving South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Her remarks were understood to assure South Korea and Japan that the U.S. will deal with North Korea in close coordination with the allies.
Many say Pyongyang is not interested in the six-way format any longer, focusing instead on getting recognized as a nuclear state and winning concessions from Washington.
Cho Tae-yong, South Korea's special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, is scheduled to visit Washington later this week.
On Wednesday he plans to hold a trilateral meeting with his American and Japanese counterparts -- Glyn Davies and Shinsuke Sugiyama. (Yonhap News)
