A UNC official said Tuesday North Korea has been asking countries, with which it opened diplomatic relations since last year, to withdraw their representatives from the Military Armistice Commission of the United Nations Command (UNC).
The official said asking not to be named North Korea has been demanding Australia and some other countries pull out from the Military Armistice Commission. He said that it was part of the North's long-held strategy to incapacitate the commission.
The official said the North has expressed its intention to talk directly to the United States about tension reduction on the Korean Peninsula, excluding the UNC.
The North's call on foreign countries appears to be part of that strategy.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce without a peace treaty.