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US President Donald Trump speaks during the White House Business Session with Governors at the White House on February 26, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (AFP)
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Everyone is, “talking about tremendous loss of life that nobody…has ever thought of”
US President Donald Trump said on Feb. 25 that he would only hold dialogue with North Korea “under the right conditions.” Trump’s message appeared to refer to full-scale negotiations with Pyongyang rather than preconditions for preliminary dialogue to sound out each side’s intentions. This marks the first time Trump has directly addressed remarks by a high-ranking North Korean delegation visiting South Korea for the Pyeongchang Olympics about being “fully prepared for dialogue” with the US. During an annual meeting with state governors at the White House that day, Trump said that North Korea “wants to talk, as of last night; you heard that.” “And we want to talk also, only under the right conditions. Otherwise, we’re not talking,” he continued. The “right conditions” referred to by Trump appeared to mean Pyongyang’s agreement to talks toward the goal of denuclearization. “[Everyone is] talking about tremendous potential loss of lives; numbers that nobody has ever even contemplated, never thought of,” Trump said. “So [North Korea] want[s] to talk. First time - they want to talk. And we’ll see what happens, That’s my attitude: We’ll see what happens,” he added. Trump’s argument suggested he is taking responsibility for North Korea’s readiness for dialogue as the result of his pressure tactics and references to a potential “military option.” In a regular briefing the same day, White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, “Anything that would be discussed [with North Korea] would have to be solely on the focus of them agreeing to denuclearize the Peninsula.” “That would be the primary factor in whether or not we would have any conversation with them,” she continued. “They [North Korea] have expressed a desire to hold talks. But let us be completely clear: Denuclearization must be the result of any dialogue with North Korea,” Sanders reiterated. With signs pointing to a more rigid stance from the Trump administration demanding that preliminary dialogue also be aimed at denuclearization, some are predicting the battle of wills with Pyongyang may heat up in spite of Seoul’s mediation efforts. As of now, the “readiness for dialogue with the US” mentioned by the North Korean delegation to Seoul has not yet been formally communicated to the US by Pyongyang through its New York channel. By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
