Amid stalled nuclear talks between North Korea and the U.S,... the regime's foreign ministry adviser has called on Washington to take wise steps before the end of the year.
Our Oh Jung-hee explains what this could mean.
North Korea has again urged the United States to come up with a new and creative approach for their denuclearization talks by the end of 2019.
On Thursday, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency carried a statement from Kim Kye-gwan, adviser to the North's foreign ministry.
Kim said the friendship and trust between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump is still strong.
However, he claimed Washington's policymakers remain hostile toward the North with "ideological prejudice and Cold War era thoughts."
Saying where there's a will, there's a way,... the adviser stressed Pyeongyang wants to see how wisely Washington will act through the end of the year.
The statement comes three weeks after working-level negotiations between the two sides collapsed in Stockholm.
The North Korean side walked out... with Pyeongyang's envoy Kim Myong-gil stating that the U.S. came to the table with no new calculation.
It's too early to tell what North Korea has in mind with Thursday's statement, but some watchers suggest the North may be want to hold another Kim-Trump summit before the end of the year... as the statement highlights the personal ties between Kim and Trump.
Some also believe Pyeongyang is showing a willingness to sit down for another round of working-level talks with the U.S. within this year.
On Wednesday, Sweden's Special Envoy to the Korean Peninsula said his country will invite North Korea and the U.S. to negotiate again at a time and place that suits both sides.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.