US says ready for dialogue with North Korea

Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs, arrives at the Incheon International Airport on Friday after ending his U.S. trip. He met with his U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun there to discuss ways to continue bringing the North to the dialogue table despite the recent breakdown of the Washington-Pyongyang summit. / Yonhap

S. Korea's envoy meets with Biegun after failed summit

By Lee Min-hyung

Washington is ready to hold “constructive” talks with Pyongyang, the U.S. State Department said Thursday (local time), as North Korea appears to be taking steps to rebuild a missile testing facility.

“We remain ready to engage North Korea in constructive negotiations,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters. “Our message here publicly and privately for that matter is, we are ready.”

This comes amid growing uncertainty in the denuclearization talks between the United States and the North in the wake of the failure of the second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week.

For its part, South Korea is making efforts to keep hopes alive for a peace deal between the North and the U.S., offering to mediate between them.

Even if Trump and Kim looked to have maintained a good relationship before the summit by exchanging their willingness to tackle the stalled dialogue momentum between the two following the first summit last June, the meeting in Vietnam's capital of Hanoi ended in a fiasco without any agreement.

Beginning this week, a series of signs have been detected of the North starting to rebuild facilities at a major missile testing site.

By analyzing satellite images, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) stated the North has rebuilt its Sohae Satellite Launching Station at Tongchang-ri and the facility has returned to normal operation status.

The move is apparently seen as part of the regime's outward expression of anger over the outcome of the recent summit. Kim Jong-un promised to dismantle the facility during a summit with President Moon Jae-in last September.

The Tongchang-ri launch site poses a serious security threat to Washington, as Pyongyang can launch intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) from there. The U.S. views ICBMs as the most threatening weapon possessed by the North, as they are capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.

Regarding the issue, Trump also expressed his disappointment for the second day in a row, Thursday.

“A little disappointed. Little bit,” Trump said in a meeting with the Czech prime minister at the White House. “We will see. We will let you know in about a year.”

North Korea, however, remained silent. As of Friday, none of the regime's state-run media had reported any stories on the claims from the U.S.

With Kim failing to reach a deal with Trump during the summit, the regime's major propaganda outlets, the Rodong Sinmun and Korea Central News Agency, have not covered details of the event and the ongoing deadlock in denuclearization talks.

South Korea is also in a growing dilemma over the unexpected breakdown at the summit, as Seoul had played a mediating role for a year to bring the North to the dialogue table with the U.S.

Following the failed summit, Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs at the foreign ministry, visited Washington for talks with U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun.

Both sides discussed measures for the U.S. to keep holding talks with the North despite the lingering challenges.

“The U.S. is in a position to continue being ready to hold talks with the North,” Lee told reporters Friday morning.

Washington said the second summit with Pyongyang was productive and constructive, and reiterated its willingness to continue discussing denuclearization with the North, Lee said.