U.S., Chinese nuclear envoys discuss ways to restart dialogue with N. Korea: State Dept.

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Yonhap) -- The top nuclear envoys of the United States and China met Tuesday in Washington for talks on ways to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. Department of State said.

The meeting between U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim and China's Liu Xiaoming was held in Washington.

"Special Representative Kim and Special Representative Liu discussed opportunities to advance our shared goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and how to encourage the DPRK to engage in meaningful negotiations," department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press release, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

North Korea has staged 12 rounds of missile launches so far this year, including its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test in over four years.

"Special Representative Kim condemned the DPRK's March 24 ICBM launch, the latest in a series of increasingly escalatory actions by the DPRK," the press release said.

Pyongyang remains unresponsive to U.S. overtures. The U.S. and North Korea last held denuclearization talks in late 2019.

The department spokesperson said Kim highlighted the importance of "responding firmly" to North Korea's escalatory actions, while reaffirming the U.S.' commitment to engage North Korea in diplomacy and dialogue.

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, earlier said her country will propose a new U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea, which many believe would likely seek to further reduce the allowed amount of oil and other energy shipments to the energy-stricken North if passed.

North Korea is currently allowed up to 500,000 barrels of refined petroleum and 4 million barrels of crude oil per year under U.N. Security Council sanctions.

The Kim-Liu meeting came one day after the U.S. special envoy and his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, agreed to push for a new U.N. Security Council resolution on North Korea in their bilateral talks here.

bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)