Biden’s Nuclear Envoy Tells North Korea Door Is Open for Talks

Sung Kim meets counterparts from Japan, South Korea in Tokyo
North Korea says it tested new cruise missiles over weekend

Sung Kim, from left, with Takehiro Funakoshi and Noh Kyu-duk at the Japan-US-ROK trilateral meeting on North Korea, in Tokyo, on Sept. 14.Photographer: David Mareuil/AFP/Getty Images

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By Isabel Reynolds

September 14, 2021 at 1:02 AM UTC

Updated on

September 14, 2021 at 9:15 AM UTC

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President Joe Biden’s envoy for North Korea said the door remains open for talks, after Pyongyang claimed it tested new long-range cruise missiles that bolster its nuclear strike capabilities against Japan and South Korea.

“We hope the DPRK will respond positively to our multiple offers to meet without preconditions,” Sung Kim, the State Department’s special representative for North Korea, said in Tokyo on Tuesday ahead of discussions with his counterparts from Japan and South Korea. Kim was referring to North Korea by its formal name.