Anchor: North Korea confirmed on Thursday that the U.S. had reached out for talks. But it said it will continue to ignore all contact from the United States unless Washington withdraws its hostile policies.
Park Jong-hong has this report.

Report: North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui said that, since mid-February, the U.S. has made several attempts to reach out to the North through various channels including New York.

She also confirmed that the U.S. reached out to Pyongyang through a third country the day before its combined exercises with South Korea started.

The statement carried in the official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) Thursday, coincides with the Seoul visit by the top U.S. diplomat and defense chief.

Choe slammed the U.S.’ recent attempts to reach out as excuses for Washington to "buy time."

She also warned that it will not grant any more opportunities for talks, such as the Singapore summit in June 2018 and the Hanoi summit the following year.

Unless the U.S. withdraws its hostile policies, she said, Pyongyang will continue to ignore its attempts to reach out to North Korea. In order to hold any talks, Choe said a mood must be set where the two sides can sit down face-to-face under equitable conditions.

She then criticized the Joe Biden's administration for bringing up the possibility of additional sanctions and "pressure measures" against the North.

Earlier this week, the White House said it has been trying to contact North Korea for talks, but the North has remained unresponsive.
Park Jong-hong, KBS World Radio News.