N Korea says willing to talk to US: Seoul

SEOUL: North Korea is “very willing” to hold talks with the United States, its delegation to the Winter Olympics closing ceremony said Sunday, according to Seoul’s presidential Blue House.

In a meeting with the South’s President Moon Jae-in, the North’s delegation “agreed that inter-Korea talks and North-US relations should improve together”, the Blue House said in a statement.

Pyongyang has frequently said it is willing to talk without preconditions, but Washington says it must first take concrete steps towards denuclearisation.Meanwhile, a blacklisted North Korean general and the daughter of US President Donald Trump attended the Winter Olympics closing ceremony together Sunday, in the final piece of the Games-led diplomacy that has dominated headlines from Pyeongchang.

Brief footage of the VIP enclosure at the arena showed South Korean President Moon Jae-in shaking hands first with Trump’s daughter Ivanka, and soon afterwards with North Korean General Kim Yong Chol — who reportedly expressed willingness to talk to Washington.

There was no indication of any interaction between Ivanka, who was placed next to Moon’s wife, and Kim, who was in the row behind her — just two seats away from US General Vincent Brooks, who commands Washington’s forces in the South. Kim arrived at the head of an eight-member delegation that crossed the Demilitarized Zone Sunday morning, but his visit has sparked angry protests from conservatives as he is accused of masterminding past attacks on the South.