US envoy says no communication, no signal from North amid nuclear crisis
South Korea and the United States agreed on Friday to keep working for a peaceful end to the North Korean nuclear crisis, but a US envoy said it was difficult to gauge the reclusive North's intentions as there has been "no signal".
North Korea is under heavy international pressure to end its nuclear and missile programmes, pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions, but has vowed never to give up its nuclear arsenal which it says it needs to counter perceived US aggression.
Lee Do-hoon, South Korea's special representative for Korean peace and security affairs, and his US counterpart, Joseph Yun, met on the southern resort island of Jeju, following a summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump in Seoul last week. "There is no doubt that both of the presidents want to find a peaceful way in regard to North Korea's nuclear issue," Yun told reporters, according to Yonhap news agency.
"So we discussed them and we agreed the pressure campaign has to be a central element."
