North Korea hinted Tuesday that long-stalled working-level denuclearization talks with the United States due to be restarted soon could be halted and nuclear and missile tests restarted if the U.S. goes ahead with planned joint military exercises with South Korea.
In a statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency, a spokesman for the country's Foreign Ministry said that if the 19-2 Dong Maeng exercise slated for next month is held, "it will affect DPRK-U.S. working-level talks."
"We will formulate our decision on the opening of the DPRK-U.S. working-level talks, while keeping watch over the U.S. move hereafter," the spokesman added.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.