South Korea insisted Tuesday there is “no gap” with its U.S. ally amid Seoul’s push for military talks with North Korea later this week, according to local media reports.
Seoul on Monday proposed a meeting with Pyongyang at the heavily guarded inter-Korean border this Friday.
Although the North is yet to respond, White House spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters Monday conditions for dialogue with Pyongyang are “clearly far away”, indicating Washington remains unwilling to meet with the reclusive state until it shows some willingness to denuclearize.
But a South Korean Unification Ministry official cited by Yonhap News Agency said this week’s push for inter-Korean talks “does not mean that conditions for full-fledged dialogue have been met”.
Seoul’s stance echoed the previous day’s announcement by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon that ties with North Korea are at “an embryonic stage to defuse tensions.”
South Korean President Moon Jae-in has made it clear he is seeking the North’s denuclearization and cooperation opportunities to bring about peace on the peninsula – representing a shift from Seoul’s recent priority on sanctions.
Pyongyang has continued to develop nuclear weapons in defiance of international punitive measures, including its claim to have successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile July 4.