US envoy Sung Kim urges North Korea to return to nuclear talks

Sung Kim made the comments after meeting South Korean officials to discuss Pyongyang’s recent missile tests

North Korea last Tuesday fired a newly-developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks

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US Special Representative for North Korea, Sung Kim. Photo: AP

Published: 3:01pm, 24 Oct 2021Updated: 8:58pm, 24 Oct 2021

A senior US diplomat on Sunday urged North Korea to refrain from additional missile tests and resume nuclear diplomacy between the countries, days after the North fired-off its first underwater-launched ballistic missile in two years.

Sung Kim, the top US official on North Korea affairs, spoke after meeting South Korean officials to discuss North Korea’s recent missile tests that have come amid a long-running stalemate in nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang.

“We call on the DPRK to cease these provocations and other destabilising activities, and instead, engage in dialogue,” Kim told reporters, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“We remain ready to meet with the DPRK without preconditions and we have made clear that the United States harbours no hostile intent towards the DPRK,” he said.

Last Tuesday, North Korea fired a newly-developed ballistic missile from a submarine in its fifth round of weapons tests in recent weeks.

South Korean officials said the submarine-fired missile appeared to be in an early stage of development. That marked the North’s first underwater-launched test since October in 2019 and the most high-profile one since President Joe Biden took office in January.