North Korea says it will stop its nuclear testing if the US agrees to a talk

This is subject to the US agreeing to sit down with North Korea, the TIME reports.

(TIME) - Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s presidential national security director, said after returning from NorthKorea on Tuesday that the two Koreas agreed to hold their summit at a tense border village in late April. He also said the leaders will establish a “hotline” communication channel between them to lower military tensions, and would speak together before the planned summit.

Chung led a 10-member South Korean delegation that met with Kim during a two-day visit to Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital. They were the first South Korean officials to meet the young North Korean leader since he took power after his dictator father’s death in late 2011. Chung’s trip also was the first known high-level visit by South Korean officials to North Korea in about 11 years.

Chung said North Korea also expressed willingness to hold a “candid dialogue” with the United States to discuss its nuclear disarmament and establish diplomatic relations. While such talks with the United States are underway, Chung said North Korea “made it clear that it won’t resume strategic provocations like additional nuclear tests or test-launches of ballistic missiles.”

The United States, on the other hand, has made it clear that it doesn’t want empty talks with North Korea and that all options, including military measures, remain on the table.

North Korea also said it would not need to keep its nuclear weapons if military threats against it are removed and it receives a credible security guarantee, Chung said. He said the North promised not to use its nuclear and conventional weapons against South Korea.

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