South Korean President Park Geun-hye told U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday that holding talks with North Korea for the sake of talks would only give the communist nation more time to advance its nuclear programs, an official said.
Park made the remark during a 20-minute phone conversation with Obama, the official said, a day after North Korea proposed to hold high-level talks with the U.S. saying it wants to have broad and in-depth discussions on defusing military tensions and other issues.
"Holding talks for the sake of talks only earns North Korea time to make its nuclear weapons more sophisticated," Park said during the phone call initiated by Obama, according to the official.
The remark was seen as a call for caution about Pyongyang's dialogue offer.
On Sunday, the North proposed what it calls "senior-level" talks with the U.S., saying it wants to have broad and in-depth discussions on defusing military tensions, replacing the armistice system with a peace mechanism and other issues of mutual concern.
The U.S. said the North should first prove its seriousness about dialogue through actions.
During Monday's conversation, Obama briefed Park on the outcome of his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, saying he asked for Beijing's cooperation for North Korea's denuclearization as Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs pose big threats to peace in Northeast Asia, presidential spokeswoman Kim Haing said earlier.
Obama also told Park that Xi expressed China's commitment to a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and promised not to recognize Pyongyang as a nuclear weapons state, while at the same time stressing the importance of resolving problems through dialogue, according to Kim.
Park and Obama agreed to continue to work closely on North Korea and other major issues, Kim said.
The White House also said the leaders discussed "regional security issues, building on discussions" from their summit talks in Washington last month.
"The two Presidents discussed recent developments with respect to the Korean Peninsula, and agreed to continue close communication and coordination on actions to pursue the denuclearization of North Korea," the White House said in a press release.