Pence says U.S. ready to talk with North Korea

Mike Pence.
(Image credit: Carl Court/Getty Images)

Vice President Mike Pence told The Washington Post on Sunday that the U.S. is willing to sit down and talk with North Korea while still imposing sanctions and urging Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programs.

Previously, the Trump administration had said it would not enter talks with North Korea until concrete steps were being made toward denuclearization. Pence said he had two conversations with South Korean President Moon Jae-in while in Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics, and they agreed to a plan that involves North Korea holding talks with South Korea regarding denuclearization, and then the United States. This is "maximum pressure and engagement at the same time," Pence said.

Pence said Moon assured him that North Korea will be made fully aware the country will not receive any economic or diplomatic benefits for merely attending the talks. He also said he doesn't know yet what steps North Korea will need to take to get relief from sanctions. "That's why you have to have talks," Pence told the Post.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.