WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States will not recognize any possible talks between North Korea and South Korea unless the talks result in the ban of all nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula, US Envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Tuesday.
« North Korea can talk to anyone they want, but the United States is not going to recognize it or acknowledge it until they agree to ban the nuclear weapons that they have, » Haley told reporters.
Moreover, the United States will initiate additional measures against Pyongyang If DPRK conducts another ballistic missile test, US Envoy to the UN warned during a press briefing on Tuesday.
« As we hear reports that North Korea might be preparing for another missile test, I hope that does not happen, but if it does we must bring even more measures to bear on the North Korean regime, » Haley said.
South Korea’s Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon suggested such talks take place after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed hope his country’s athletes would participate in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea this February.
The relationship between the two countries has been particularly strained over the last 12 months due to North Korea’s ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile tests.
