U.S. defence secretary urges North Korea to resume nuclear talks

U.S. acting Defence Secretary Pat Shanahan called on North Korea on Monday to get back to the negotiating table for nuclear weapons talks.

“As always, we’re hopeful that the North Koreans will engage productively through diplomatic channels to resolve our concerns,’’ Shanahan said in comments carried by South Korean news agency Yonhap during a visit to Seoul.

The U.S. remains committed to the sanctions it slapped on the reclusive state until North Korea complied “with all international regulations,’’ he added.

U.S. President Donald Trump is hoping for a rapprochement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Since a failed summit in Vietnam in February, negotiations have stalled.

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Washington and Pyongyang could not agree on the central issue of nuclear deproliferation.

Kim called for the lifting a large part of international sanctions without success.

Shanahan said the only acceptable solution would be the monitored draw down of nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula.

The U.S. politician made it clear to his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in a Sunday meeting in Singapore that the U.S. did not want to deviate from its goals of nuclear disarmament on the peninsula.

Trump is to visit South Korea in about three weeks.

Earlier, he discussed the situation on the Korean peninsula with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

(dpa/NAN)