US, N Korea talk fell due to nuke test: WSJ

The US government secretly agreed to talks with North Korea aimed at formally ending the Korean War just days before Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The talks were offered despite a longstanding condition that North Korea first move to cut its nuclear arsenal. Instead the nuclear weapons program was to be part of the talks, the Journal said in its Monday edition. The 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, but no formal peace treaty. The US State Department acknowledged the exchange, insisting that it was in accordance with US goals.

The Journal, citing unnamed US officials familiar with the events that took place at the United Nations, said the rapprochement broke down when North Korea conducted its nuclear test in January.