South Korea to mediate US-North Korea tensions

In this April 24, 2018 photo, a North Korean flag flies in the village of Gijungdong. (REUTERS)

Following North Korea’s threat Wednesday to pull out of the June 12 summit with the United States, South Korea said it wishes to play the role of mediator.

North Korea’s threat comes amidst the United States insistence that the rogue state must completely denuclearize within six months, Reuters reported, citing a Japanese paper.

A South Korean official said the country will “convey (to the United States) what we’ve discerned about North Korea’s position and attitude…and sufficiently convey the United States’ position to North Korea.”

Routine U.S.-South Korean military drills irked Pyongyang enough to threaten cancelling the June summit between Kim Jong Un and  President Trump.

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North Korea’s state-run media, KCNA, denounced the exercises as a “military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula.”

An official from Blue House – South Korea’s White House equivalent – said President Moon Jae-in and the South Korean government will take a more active role in mediating between the United States and North Korea.

Moon is scheduled to attend a May 22 summit at the White House to speak with Trump, where they are expected to discuss the upcoming U.S.-North Korea summit.