PYONGYANG, March 3 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday urged the United States to hold dialogue without any precondition.
A dialogue with Washington is possible, a DPRK Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement.
"It is the consistent and principled position of the DPRK to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way through dialogue and negotiation," the Korean Central News Agency quoted the official as saying.
The spokesperson said the DPRK wants dialogue "designed to discuss and resolve the issue of mutual concern on an equal footing between states."
"In the decades-long history of the DPRK-U.S. talks, there has been no case at all where we sat with the U.S. with any precondition, and this will be the case in future too," he said.
However, while the DPRK intends to resolve issues in a diplomatic and peaceful way, it will "neither beg for dialogue nor evade the military option claimed by the U.S," he said.
Dismissing the United States putting denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue as "more than ridiculous", he claimed Washington is "terrified" at the rapid development of the DPRK's nuclear force.
According to media reports, a high-level DPRK delegation in South Korea said last week that Pyongyang is leaving the door open for dialogue with the United States.
However, Washington says it will not have dialogue with the DPRK unless "a right condition is met" and will keep watching to see if Pyongyang has any intention to abandon its nuclear and missile program.
