North Korean and U.S. diplomats met Wednesday in New York under a barrage of harsh rhetoric from Pyongyang (see GSN, Feb. 22).

Jack Pritchard, U.S. State Department envoy on North Korea policy, met with Pak Gil Yon, North Korea’s envoy to the United Nations, said a top U.S. State Department official.

“We had a useful meeting.  Both sides pledged to continue their discussions from time to time,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly.

U.S. officials are unsure as to how to interpret the rhetoric and tone of recent statements from North Korea, Kelly said.

“Some of the statements emanating from Pyongyang have been fairly strong but not easily interpreted, and we are not sure what they meant,” he said (Stephen Collinson, Agence France-Presse, March 15).

North Korea yesterday threatened it would “take a substantial countermeasure” in response to recently released reports that it was on a U.S. list of countries considered as possible nuclear targets (see GSN, March 11).

“Under the present situation, where nuclear lunatics have taken office in the White House, we are compelled to examine all agreements with the U.S.,” said the North Korean Foreign Ministry in a statement.

One of the main agreements North Korea threatened to re-examine is the 1994 Agreed Framework, under which North Korea has agreed to abandon its nuclear weapons program in exchange for two modern nuclear power reactors.

“The U.S. gave specific assurances … in the Agreed Framework that it would not use nuclear weapons against (North Korea) or threaten (North Korea) with them,” the North Korean Foreign Ministry said.

“In case the U.S. plan for a nuclear attack on (North Korea) turns out to be true, (North Korea) will have no option but to take a substantial countermeasure against it, not bound to any (North Korean)-U.S. agreement,” the ministry said (Andrew Ward, Financial Times, March 15).

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