South Korea today said that North Korea is "very willing" to hold talks with the US, quoting North Korea's delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony.
The maximum pressure campaign must continue until North Korea denuclearizes. As President Trump has said, there is a brighter path available for North Korea if it chooses denuclearization, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
We will see if Pyongyangs message today, that it is willing to hold talks, represents the first steps along the path to denuclearization, Sanders said.
Later this week, the Trump Administration had announced a series of tough sanctions against North Korea. The statement from Pyongyang that it is willing to hold talks with the US came after that.
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The United States, our Olympic Host the Republic of Korea, and the international community broadly agree that denuclearisation must be the result of any dialogue with North Korea, Sanders said.
North Korea last year increased the pace of its missile programme. Since February, Pyongyang has fired off 23 missiles.