SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea suggested a new dialogue to resolve tensions over its atomic-weapons programs — an apparent invitation to the U.S. to engage in one-on-one talks after Pyong yang bolstered its negotiating power with nuclear and missile tests.
Hours earlier, however, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told North Korea to stick to six-nation talks that it has rejected. Clinton said the multilateral framework is “the appropriate way to engage with North Korea.”
The statement Monday from Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry marks a rare expression of willingness to talk by a regime that has escalated tensions with a flurry of provocations in recent months, including a nuclear test and a series of banned missile tests.
It also suggests that the communist regime thinks it has raised its stakes enough and that it’s time to negotiate.
