US White House: "Dialogue Channel with North Korea is Open... Putin Behind Prigozhin's Death"

The White House in the United States urged North Korea to engage in dialogue on the 29th (local time) in response to North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un's criticism of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan leaders as "gangster bosses." It repeatedly pointed to President Vladimir Putin as being behind the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, when asked about Chairman Kim's remarks during the daily briefing, avoided a direct response but stated, "As we have said multiple times, channels for dialogue with North Korea remain open."

She advised North Korea to cease military provocations or actions that raise tensions and to engage in dialogue and negotiations.

Earlier, on the 28th, marking North Korea's Navy Day, Kim Jong-un visited the Navy Command and harshly criticized the South Korea-U.S.-Japan leaders, who recently held their first standalone summit at Camp David, calling them "gangster bosses."

Jean-Pierre also pointed to the Kremlin as being behind Prigozhin's death.

Regarding Prigozhin's death, she said, "We do not have new (intelligence) assessments," but emphasized, "What happened here seems very clear." She added, "We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing its enemies."

Jean-Pierre stated, "All of this happened because Prigozhin, a military leader frustrated with Russia's reckless policies toward Ukraine and a cold-blooded killer and murderer, criticized Russia's failed policies," adding, "He made a deal with (Putin) and died a month or two later."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.