N. Korea and U.S. to discuss ties
The State Department said Wednesday that the United States and North Korea would meet in New York on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the normalization of relations, but it played down expectations of any breakthrough.
“I would caution you that this meeting is just a first step. It is an initial conversation,” department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.
The scheduled meeting follows North Korea’s Feb. 13 agreement to take steps toward nuclear disarmament in exchange for $300 million in aid and the prospect of other diplomatic and security benefits.
The U.S. and North Korea have no diplomatic ties and have a host of unresolved issues stemming from the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce.
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