The US envoy for North Korea arrived in South Korea on Saturday amid halted denuclearization dialogues and tension over Pyongyang’s missile test.
Sung Kim’s, special representative, the visit came days after North’s new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test. This test was criticized by Washington and called for a return to dialogues to continue denuclearization of North Korea in return for US sanctions relief.
Kim, after his meeting in Washington with South Korean and Japanese counterparts on Tuesday, urged North Korea to refrain from further provocations and engage in sustained and substantive dialogue.
Pyongyang so far has rejected US proposals, accusing the US and South Korea of talking diplomacy while ratcheting up tensions with their own military activities.
On Thursday, North Korea said that the US was overreacting to its self-defensive SLBM test and questioned the sincerity of Washington’s offers of talks, warning of consequences. Kim said that he looks forward to having “productive follow up discussions” with his counterpart.
