Chancellor Angela Merkel told a newspaper she would be prepared to become involved in a diplomatic initiative to end the North Korean nuclear and missiles program, and suggested the Iran nuclear talks could be a model.
South Korea was on alert for a possible further missile test by the North on Monday, two days after it marked its founding anniversary and more than a week since its sixth and largest nuclear test rattled global financial markets and further escalated tensions in the region.
"If our participation in talks is desired, I will immediately say yes," Merkel told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung in an interview published Sunday.