Top N. Korean Official Urges US to Drop 'Hostile Policy'
A top North Korean official has reportedly urged the United States to withdraw its "hostile policy" towards the North, saying that current situations surrounding the Korean Peninsula are at a "critical crossroads."
According to the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency on Tuesday, Choe Ryong-hae, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, made the call in a speech at a Non-Aligned Movement summit held in Azerbaijan on Friday and Saturday.
In the speech, Choe reportedly said that North Korea can engage in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. only after Washington takes substantial steps to withdraw its hostile North Korea policy and dispel the North's concerns about regime safety.
He said the situation on the Korean Peninsula is at a critical crossroads of either moving towards peace along the trend of detente or facing again a "touch-and-go" crisis.
The top official also criticized South Korea for relying on outsiders in cross-border issues and urged it to take the lead in improving inter-Korean relations.
[Photo : YONHAP News]