Swedish Top Diplomat Says No Plans for New US-North Korean Talks So Far
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said she had no information so far about plans to hold another round of talks between the United States and North Korea in her country.
"No news for today," she told TASS. "We are trying to create conditions under which the United States and North Korea would be willing to negotiate. We cannot force them, it should be their determination. And, at present, this determination is not particularly strong, especially on behalf of North Korea."
"There are no immediate plans of talks on the agenda. But we are not ruling them out," the Swedish top diplomat added.
The Swedish capital of Stockholm hosted a preliminary bilateral meeting between the United States and North Korean delegations on October 4, 2019. Working-level negotiations opened on the following day to be cut short several hours later. According to Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter daily, North Korea’s representative Kim Myong-Gil said Pyongyang was disappointed over the United States’ unpreparedness for the talks. Meanwhile, US State Department’s spokesperson, Morgan Ortagus said the talks were constructive.
Kent Harstedt, Sweden's special envoy for Korean Peninsula affairs, said in late October that he was ready to send invitations to Washington and Pyongyang for new talks back then.