'US holds no hostility, awaits positive response from N.Korea'

Washington, Dec 14 The US has no hostile policy toward North Korea while it continues to wait for a positive response from Pyongyang to its outreach, a state department spokesperson said Monday.

Jalina Porter, principal deputy spokesperson for the state department, also reiterated that the US remains ready to meet with North Korea any time without any preconditions, Yonhap News Agency reported on Tuesday.

"We remain committed to achieving a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy with the DPRK, and to that end, of course, we will seek to engage with the DPRK as a part of a calibrated and practical approach in order to make more tangible progress that increases the security of not only the US, but as well as our allies and our deployed forces," she said in a telephonic press briefing on Monday.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's official name.

Her remarks come after South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the US, China and North Korea have all expressed their agreement, in principle, for the need to formally declare an end to the Korean War, but that the countries have been unable to enter talks because of Pyongyang's demand for Washington to withdraw what it calls American hostility.

"We certainly have no hostile intent towards the DPRK. And we're certainly prepared to meet without preconditions and we hope the DPRK will respond positively to our outreach," said Porter.

"We'll continue to consult closely with Republic of Korea, Japan and other allies and partners about the best way to engage with the DPRK," she added, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Echoing a similar statement, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said: "We have no hostile intent toward the DPRK, and we're obviously prepared to meet without preconditions and we continue to hope that the DPRK will respond positively to that outreach, the administration's outreach."

The US has some 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea.

North Korea has long demanded the withdrawal of American troops from South Korea, accusing joint ROK-US military exercises of being war rehearsals.

North Korea has stayed away from denuclearization negotiations since 2019.