US Open to Dialogue with North Korea at 'Appropriate Time'

The United States is open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, said the White House. (Reuters)
The United States is open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, said the White House. (Reuters)
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US Open to Dialogue with North Korea at 'Appropriate Time'

The United States is open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, said the White House. (Reuters)
The United States is open to talks with North Korea at the appropriate time, said the White House. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump informed his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in that he was open for dialogue with Pyongyang, announced the White House on Wednesday.

The United States is open to talks with North Korea “at the appropriate time, under the right circumstances,” it added.

Moon briefed Trump in a phone call on the talks held on Tuesday between North and South Korea, their first in more than two years.

The White House said Moon thanked Trump for his “leadership in making the talks possible.”

Commenting on the prospect of holding talks with the North, Trump said: “Who knows where it leads?”

Trump told reporters as he met members of his Cabinet at the White House that Moon informed him the initial South Korean talks with North Korea went well.

“Hopefully it will lead to success for the world, not just for our country, but for the world. And we’ll be seeing over the next number of weeks and months what happens,” he said.



PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
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PKK Disarmament to Take a Few Months in Iraq, Türkiye Ruling Party Says

Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo
Türkiye's European Union Affairs Minister Omer Celik speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Turkish Embassy in London, Britain, September, 14, 2017. REUTERS/Will Russell/File photo

The handover of weapons by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Iraq, following its decision to disband, should be completed within a few months, a spokeperson for Türkiye's ruling AK Party said late on Wednesday.

Speaking to broadcaster NTV, Omer Celik said a confirmation mechanism, including officials from Turkish intelligence and the armed forces, will oversee the handover process.

"The disarmament ... process (in Iraq) needs to be completed within three to five months... If it exceeds this period, it will become vulnerable to provocations," Celik said on NTV, Reuters reported.

The PKK, which has been locked in a bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided in May to disband and end its armed struggle.

PKK militants are set to begin handing over weapons in the northern Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah on Friday as part of the peace process with Türkiye.

Since the PKK launched its insurgency against Türkiye in 1984 - originally with the aim of creating an independent Kurdish state - the conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, imposed a huge economic burden and fuelled social tensions.