South Korean presidential security office chief Chung Eui-yong said on Sunday that Washington was very active in its attempts to convince North Korea to resume failed negotiations on denuclearisation, the national media reported.
Chung said, as cited by the Yonhap news agency, that although it was hard to predict the timing of the new talks between Pyongyang and Washington, the US actively sought to convince North Korea to return to the negotiating table, adding that the third summit could be held and the real progress would be achieved only if the parties started working together.
"To my understanding, the US side is persuading North Korea very aggressively," he said.
The head of national security noted that the South Korean government was serious about its northern neighbour's words on the deadline for submitting a new decision before the end of the year, therefore Seoul maintained close cooperation with the United States on this issue.
In early October, the North Korean delegation held working-level denuclearisation talks with the US delegation in Sweden. These were the first talks since the high-level summit in Hanoi in February, that eventually failed as North Korean diplomats left the meeting's venue prematurely. According to the diplomat, the United States came empty-handed without paying attention to the North Korean requirements. At the same time, the US debunked the claims stating that the talks were good and resulted in a range of creative ideas.
