North Korea has promised to stop testing nuclear missiles if the United States holds talks with Pyongyang, South Korea said Tuesday.
The Associated Press reported that an official in South Korea’s presidential office said that North Korean officials are ready for “heart-to-heart” discussions with the U.S.
North Korea is reportedly ready to discuss denuclearization and normalizing relations with Washington.
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The South Korean official said that North Korea is prepared to give up its nuclear weapons if threats of military action stop, and if its security is guaranteed.
North Korea also vowed not to use any weapons against South Korea.
South Korean envoys this week traveled to North Korea, where they met with leader Kim Jong Un.
Kim said during a dinner with the envoys that he has a “firm will to vigorously advance the north-south relations and write a new history of national reunification by the concerted efforts of our nation to be proud of in the world.”
President Trump responded to a report of the meeting between Kim and the South Korean envoys with a five-word tweet: “We will see what happens!”
Relations between the two Korean nations improved after North Korea sent athletes to compete in the Winter Olympics in South Korea last month.
Trump has long railed against North Korea over its nuclear missile tests, promising last year that the country would be “met with fire and fury” if it threatened the U.S.
North Korea has continued to test missiles since then.
The South Korean envoys are set to travel to the U.S. and brief American officials about the talks with North Korea.
— This report was updated at 8:09 a.m.