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The United States did not raise the issue of North Korea's banned nuclear program during the visit by a senior U.S. official to secure the release of two American prisoners, U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday.
The United States is ready to engage Pyongyang on its nuclear program when the North is ready to talk seriously about denuclearization, Obama told a news conference during a summit of Asia-Pacific nations in Beijing.
Asked whether North Korea's release of the U.S. citizens Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller showed a potential diplomatic opening, Obama said that Director of National Intelligence James Clapper did not conduct "high-level policy discussions" in Pyongyang on his trip to retrieve them.
"It did not touch on some of the broader issues of concern ... In particular, its development of nuclear capacity," Obama said.
The United States continued to have a broader conflict with North Korea despite what O
