US Ready To Talk With North Korea, Urges Negotiations Without Preconditions - Envoy

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2023) The United States is committed to negotiating with North Korea and urges Pyongyang to begin a dialogue without preconditions, US Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Robert Wood said.

"The United States remains committed to diplomacy, and we continue to urge the DPRK (North Korea) )to come to the table for meaningful negotiations without preconditions," Wood said during the meeting of the UN Security Council on Friday.

Wood accused Russia and China of drawing false equivalences between North Korea's missile launches and the joint military exercises conducted by the United States and South Korea.

Wood called North Korea's launches "unlawful," while he described the US-South Korea drills as "lawful, defensive and pre-announced."

The envoy also pointed out that nothing provoked North Korea to initiate a launch earlier this week.

On Wednesday, North Korea unsuccessfully launched the Malligyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite mounted on a Chollima-1 carrier rocket. After the separation of the first stage, the engine of the second stage failed to ignite, causing the rocket to lose thrust and fall into the Yellow Sea, North Korea's space agency said.