US seeks talks with N. Korea to reduce risk of inadvertent conflict: NSC spokesperson

Mira Rapp-Hooper, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for East Asia and Oceania, speaks during a forum in Seoul co-hosted by South Korea's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in this image captured from the YouTube channel of JTBC News, March 4. Yonhap

The United States seeks dialogue with North Korea, including on mitigating the risk of an inadvertent conflict on the Korean Peninsula, a National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson said Monday, stressing its goal for the "complete" denuclearization of the peninsula remains unchanged.

The remarks came after Mira Rapp-Hooper, the NSC senior director for East Asia and Oceania, said this week that Washington will consider "interim steps" on the pathway toward the North's denuclearization — a statement that raised speculation about a potential U.S. policy shift.

In the negotiation lexicon for the North, interim steps usually involve such measures as Pyongyang's freeze of its nuclear weapons development in return for sanctions relief or other incentives to encourage the regime's denuclearization efforts.

"Our position on the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula has not changed," the spokesperson said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency, referring to the North by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"While we work towards this goal, there are a number of valuable discussions we seek to have with the DPRK, including on reducing the risk of inadvertent military conflict on the peninsula," the official added.

The spokesperson also said that the U.S. encourages the North to return to "substantive discussions on identifying ways to manage military risks and create lasting peace" on the peninsula.

The U.S. has recently highlighted the need for risk mitigation as the North's nullification of a 2018 inter-Korean tension reduction agreement has raised concerns about the possibility of an accidental clash between the two Koreas.

On Monday, Seoul and Washington kicked off a major combined military exercise amid concerns that Pyongyang could engage in provocative acts on the pretext of responding to the drills that the allies say are defensive in nature.

Meaningful nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang have been stalled since the no-deal Hanoi summit between the two countries in February 2019. (Yonhap)