N Korea demands preconditions for talks resumption



N Korea demands preconditions for talks resumption Pyongyang: North Korea is taking a step back from earlier vows that it would never deal with South Korea's leader, but it is demanding preconditions for resuming talks that include the cancellation of US-South Korea military drills.

South Korea is unlikely to accept most of the demands made in a statement on Thursday by the Policy Department of the North's powerful National Defence Commission.

It follows comments on Wednesday by a senior US diplomat that Washington is open to diplomacy if Pyongyang improves ties with Seoul.

North Korea is also demanding that South Korea apologise for failing to properly respect late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, and that it stop criticising Pyongyang over two deadly 2010 attacks blamed on North Korea.

Bureau Report