North korea open to talks with south korea

North Korea is open to immediate talks with rival South Korea if Seoul responds to several preconditions for dialogue, a North Korean military official told The Associated Press on Thursday. Read more: www.time.com...

The North's defense commission also said South Korea should apologize for failing to show proper respect to Kim Jong Il during the mourning period that followed the late leader's Dec. 17 death. It also posed questions about Seoul stopping criticism of Pyongyang over two deadly 2010 attacks blamed on North Korea, and following through on previous agreements that call for South Korean investments in the North. The North also said U.S.-South Korean military drills must end. "It does not make sense to sit face to face with (an) enemy carrying a dagger by the belt and talk about peace," the North's statement said. Pyongyang calls the drills a rehearsal for war. A round of military exercises by the allies is to start later this month Read more: www.time.com...

Nor th korea open to talks with south korea

reply to post by targeting

I'm surprised. I thought Kim Jong Un would be just like his father, but perhaps I was wrong. North korea is still evil, but this is a step in the right direction. I do think the demand that people respect Kim Jong Il is unrealistic though.

Please forgive me for being a pessimist, but if I read this correctly, North Korea wants money from South Korea in the form of investments, a national apology, an end to criticism of North Korea over two deadly attacks, an end to joint US South Korea military drills, and several other concessions.

In exchange, some North Korean officials will just talk to the South for some unspecified period of time, with no guarantee that they won't walk out about thirty minutes later.

I know it's not diplomatic, but I would be tempted to laugh. But then, I would simply, politely say "If you want to talk, let's talk. But if you want us to give you something, let's see what you're giving us in return."