North Korea demands UN cancels sanctions for talks to restart
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Seoul - The United Nations must drop sanctions and the United States and South Korea cease all "acts of aggression" if they want to resume negotiations aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear programme, Pyongyang said Thursday.
"Seoul and Washington must halt all acts of aggression and issue apologies," the National Defence Commission said in a statement,according to the Yonhap news agency.
"The United Nations Security Council sanctions resolution must be rescinded." The six-party talks involving the Koreas, Japan, the US, Russia and China stalled in 2009.
South Korean President Park Guen Hye offered to hold dialogue withthe North last week in a bid to ease tensions that heightened over fears that Pyongyang was preparing for a missile launch.
On Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Pyongyang to "seriously" consider Seoul's offer and to resume negotiations.
"I continue to urge the DPRK leadership to reverse course and return to the negotiating table," Ban told reporters, referring to North Korea by the acronym for its official name.//DPA
