In what could amount to a significant recalibration of its stance toward nuclear-armed North Korea, the United States has said it is open to talks with the isolated country, Vice President Mike Pence said in an interview published Sunday.
The report by The Washington Post said that discussions between Pence and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics had resulted in “real progress … toward a new diplomatic opening that could result in direct talks without preconditions between Washington and Pyongyang.”
Outlining the plan, the report said that while Washington and its allies would not halt its pressure campaign on the regime of leader Kim Jong Un until it takes clear steps toward denuclearization, the administration of President Donald Trump “is now willing to sit down and talk with the regime” as the campaign continues.