Secretary Kerry sees N. Korea’s conditions for talks as ‘beginning gambit’

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday has dismissed North Korea’s preconditions for talks, including lifting of United Nations sanctions, as unacceptable. Testifying at a Senate hearing, he has made hard-line remarks about North Korea, rejecting the North’s preconditions. But he said North Korea’s talk of dialogue itself is positive. “That’s the first word of negotiation or thought of that we’ve heard from them since all of this has begun,” Kerry told U.S. lawmakers. “I`m prepared to look at that as at least a beginning, not acceptable obviously, and we have to go further.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest also told reporters that the U.S. remains open to “authentic and credible negotiations (with the North).” But he said the North should show it was serious about returning to talks and should abide by its obligations to give up its nuclear weapons and programs. “We also need to see some clear evidence that the North Koreans themselves are willing to live up to their international obligations,” he said.

Earlier on the day, North Korea issued a statement from the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission, demanding that the U.S. and South Korea lift UN sanctions and halt U.S.-South Korea military exercises as conditions for resuming talks.

kyle@donga.com