North Korean Ambassador to the UN Ja Song-nam was to attend a UN Security Council meeting last night at press time at which US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was to address how to confront the North Korea crisis, diplomats said.
Tillerson set off speculation that Washington was seeking a diplomatic opening for negotiations with North Korea when he offered this week to hold talks “without preconditions.”
However, the White House and US Department of State stressed that the US’ stance had not changed and said that North Korea must first show a willingness to halt its nuclear and missile tests.
Ja was to speak during his rare appearance at the top UN body, which was about to hold a ministerial-level meeting following a visit to Pyongyang by UN Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman.
North Korean Permanent Mission to the UN spokesman Jo Jong-chol confirmed in an e-mail that Ja was to attend the meeting.
On Thursday, Ja met with Feltman to follow up on the UN official’s visit to Pyongyang last weekend.
Feltman met with North Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Yong-ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong-kuk during his four-day visit to Pyongyang — the first by a high-ranking UN official since 2011.
Ja also attended those meetings, during which Feltman pressed for “talks about talks” to open up a diplomatic venue and prevent a possible war on the Korean Peninsula.
UN officials declined to comment on the 30-minute meeting on Thursday, but Feltman has encouraged North Korea to take the Security Council seriously.
North Korea has repeatedly said that the council is a tool of the US, after it ratcheted up sanctions against Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear tests.
While UN rules allow North Korea to address the council during meetings that relate to its affairs, the nation’s ambassador has mostly boycotted the sessions.
During a closed-door briefing to the council on Tuesday, Feltman said he was “deeply worried” by the North Korean response and the “lack of urgency” to address the dangerous crisis, a council diplomat said.
The North Korean officials made clear to Feltman that “now is not the time” for talks, he said.
Feltman on Tuesday told reporters that while the North Korean officials did not commit to hold talks, “they agreed that it was important to prevent war.”
“Time will tell what was the impact of our discussions, but I think we’ve left the door ajar,” Feltman said, adding that he “fervently” hoped that “the door to a negotiated solution will now be opened wide.”
Over the past year, the council has adopted three rounds of sanctions aimed at choking off revenue to Pyongyang’s military programs, after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s regime carried out its sixth nuclear test and a series of advanced missile launches.
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