North Korea expresses its readiness to rejoin the Six party Talks (SPT); North Korea makes some conciliatory steps towards South Korea, but Seoul remains suspicious of its intentions;
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    • Amb. Sin Son-ho, North Korean top envoy to the UN, recently stated that Pyongyang is ready to rejoin the Six party Talks (SPT). He however also stated that the timing for resumption of those talks would primarily depend on “those who oppose” them, primarily hinting at the US and South Korea. Sin also urged Seoul to take Pyongyang’s repeated offers for dialogue seriously. 1

    North Korea, on January 20, called on South Korea to put an end to all slender between the two sides. This was significant considering that only three days ago the former rejected Pyongyang’s proposal to cancel the joint military exercises that are scheduled to be held between South Korea and the US from late February till April this year. While commenting on South Korea’s rejection, North Korea’s propaganda newspaper Rodong Sinmun stated that the South Korean authorities “should dispel prejudice and unnecessary suspicion towards their compatriots to salvage North-South relations.” 2 South Korea however seems to remain suspicious of Pyongyang’s intentions and has not taken the latter’s reconciliation offer seriously. Instead Seoul has called on Pyongyang to demonstrate its sincerity through actions as the latter’s intentions can no longer be judged through words. 3

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