North Korea Rejects US Offer Of Nuclear Talks

Reuters carrying comments from the State News Agency of North Korea (KCNA) stating "US offer of [nuclear] talks is just a ploy," and the "US is delusional to think it can achieve disarmament," adding that the "expansion of US extended deterrence will only push North Korea further away from negotiating table."

• The comments come as Pyongyang tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile in months, last week.
• White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CBS yesterday that he would not be surprised if the DPRK was preparing to conduct a seventh nuclear test.
• Sullivan said: "Over the course of the Biden administration, we have indicated to North Korea that we’re prepared to sit down and talk without preconditions about their nuclear program.”
• South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has taken an increasingly hardline position on Pyongyang, including an enhanced nuclear agreement with the US signed during a White House state visit in April.
• Yoon said at the NATO summit last week: “Now is the time to clearly demonstrate that the international community’s determination to deter North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is stronger than North Korea’s desire to develop nuclear weapons.”