SEOUL- North Korea Monday urged the United States and its allies to stop imposing sanctions on the country for its nuclear and missile tests and begin negotiations to ease tensions in the Korean peninsula.
In a statement published by the state-run KCNA agency, a spokesperson of the National Defence Commission in Pyongyang said talks are a better solution than reckless military pressure, and concessions without conditions and cooperation are more effective than trying to overthrow the regime.
This is the first time this year that North Korea has alluded to the possibility of a dialogue with the U.S., as until now it had threatened to continue to develop its nuclear and missile programs.
The spokesperson argued the "illegal" sanctions imposed by the U.S., following North Korea's recent nuclear and missile tests, are a part of the "anachronistic and suicidal" strategy, which will only serve to strengthen the North Korean army and people's will to destroy their enemies.
He added Washington is exerting strong military pressure on North Korea and creating a serious crisis situation, which can result in a retaliatory nuclear strike on the U.S.
Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear launch in January and another space rocket launch in February, believed to be a disguised long-range missile test, which led the U.N. Security Council to impose resolution 2270 on the country.
The sanctions outlined by the resolution include mandatory inspection of cargo, restrictions on export of raw materials, trade embargo on light weapons and a ban on sale of aviation fuel, as well as financial sanctions against individuals, entities and assets.
South Korea, the U.S. and Japan had also ordered additional unilateral sanctions against North Korea to choke off its revenue sources further.
Meanwhile, Seoul and Washington are conducting their largest ever joint military exercises on South Korean territory, involving 17,000 U.S. soldiers and 300,000 South Korean ones.
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