The Obama administration rebuked North Korea on Thursday for its threat to conduct its third nuclear test and launch long-range rockets designed to "target against the U.S.," with the White House calling it "needlessly provocative."
North Korea reacted angrily Wednesday to a U.N. resolution that condemns its recent rocket launch and imposes new sanctions, hinting that it may conduct another nuclear test.
The United States is getting tired of mixed messages from North Korea, a U.S. envoy said Thursday, warning the secretive, communist nation against further "provocations" such as its failed rocket launch last month.
North Korea has ramped up work at its nuclear test site, according to an analysis of satellite images released Tuesday, a day after a senior U.S. envoy warned the North that an atomic test would unify the world in seeking swift, tough punishment.
The United States and North Korea on Thursday resumed talks that were delayed by the death of North Korea's Kim Jong-il two months ago, with the U.S. envoy saying they covered U.S. food aid and other topics.
The U.S. and North Korea reopen nuclear talks Thursday that will provide a glimpse into where Pyongyang's opaque government is heading after Kim Jong-il's death and test its readiness to dismantle nuclear programs for much-needed aid.
The State Department said Monday that U.S. officials will engage in direct talks with North Korea later this month, signaling the first major development in the tense relations between the West and Pyongyang since the death of longtime North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.
A U.S. envoy will hold talks with North Korea in Beijing next week on its nuclear program, the first such negotiations since the death of the nation's longtime leader, Kim Jong-il, in December.
U.S. officials say food aid to North Korea could resume depending on whether Pyongyang can provide the necessary monitoring assurances in talks between the sides that began Thursday in Beijing.
