Alwaght- North Korea says it has no intention of meeting US officials during the Winter Olympics in neighboring South Korea, emphasizing that it never begged for dialogue with Washington.
“We have never begged for dialogue with the US nor in the future, too,” the North’s KCNA news agency reported, citing Jo Yong Sam, director-general of the North American department of North Korea’s foreign ministry.
“Explicitly speaking, we have no intention to meet with the U.S. side during the stay in South Korea ... Our delegation’s visit to South Korea is only to take part in the Olympics and hail its successful holding.”
US Vice President Mike Pence flies into South Korea on Thursday ahead of the opening ceremony in the mountain resort of Pyeongchang, just 80 km (50 miles) from North Korea.
The ceremony will also be attended by a senior delegation of North Korean officials, including the younger sister of leader Kim Jong Un and the North’s nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam.
North Korea meanwhile marked the founding anniversary of its army with a large military parade in Pyongyang on Thursday.
Elsewhere, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday dialogue between North Korea and the United States is "absolutely necessary" and "urgent" to fend off any possibility of tensions escalating into a sudden crisis on the Korean Peninsula.
The tensions on the Korean Peninsula have worsened over the last year after increased provocations by the US which include military drills and deployment of warships and submarines in the region.
Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible nuclear aggression.
