North Korea warns US to be ‘sincere’ in talks

NORTH KOREAN state media has warned the United States should be “sincere” and restrain from acting in a way which could ruin the cooperative atmosphere ahead of a proposed summit between the two countries.

“The US should know that it will be better off to restrain from words and acts that could undermine the rarely created atmosphere for talks,” Rodong Sinmun the ruling Workers’ Party’s official newspaper said in a commentary as quoted by South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.

“Also, it should make efforts to show sincere and genuine attitudes conforming to the current situations,” it said.

It also warned that the US risked its own security if it continued to pursue a “hostile policy” against Pyongyang.

The comments came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday to lay the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s unprecedented meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, planned for May or June.

His visit comes as rumours fly over three US citizens being held in the North, with suggestions they may have been moved in preparation for a release. It is Pompeo’s second visit to North Korea in less than six weeks.

Trump earlier said the two countries had agreed on a date and location for the summit, although he stopped short of providing details.

“We think relationships are building with North Korea,” Trump said in a televised address from the White House. “We will see how it all works out. Maybe it won’t. But it can be a great thing for North Korea, South Korea and the entire world.”

An official at South Korea’s presidential Blue House said Pompeo was expected to finalise the date of the summit and secure the release of the three American detainees.

Simultaneously, the leaders of China, Japan and South Korea met in Tokyo on Wednesday in a powerful gesture of solidarity against the backdrop of historic diplomatic moves by North Korea and a push for the isolated country to give up its nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, Kim met Chinese President Xi Jinping in China – also the second time in six weeks – highlighting efforts by the Cold War-era allies to mend frayed ties, and with Beijing keen to avoid being left out in the cold.