Bloomberg: North Korea Wins Olympics Trip, But Discord Remains Over Nuclear Weapons
* South Korea talks stumble over call for denuclearization
* Both sides agree on North Korea participating in Olympics
North Korea’s chief negotiator Ri Son Gwon struck a jovial tone as he sat down on Tuesday morning for his country’s first formal talks with South Korea in more than two years.
He joked about how the subzero temperatures reflected frosty ties and asked for the proceedings to be broadcast live -- a request South Korea turned down. A few hours later, South Korea announced that North Korea would join the Olympics next month in Pyeongchang, a ski town near their shared border.
Yet as the day wore on, and South Korea proposed talks on ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, the mood appeared to sour. Ri issued a “strong complaint” that Seoul dared to even raise the possibility of denuclearization at such an early stage. The subject is likely to arise again Wednesday when South Korean President Moon Jae-in holds a press briefing.
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WNU Editor: The U.S. is hailing these talks .... U.S. hails Korea talks, despite North's rejection of denuclearisation (Reuters). But absent any talks on North Korea's nuclear and missile programs .... and North Korea clearly does not want to talk about it's nuclear and missile .... these talks were underwhelming.
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