North Korea on Wednesday warned detractors to exercise "prudence" ahead of planned summits with the South Korean and American presidents, noting that there is a "dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation" between the two Koreas as well as a shift in the relationship between Pyongyang and Washington.
At the same time, Finland's government said delegates from North Korea, South Korea and the United States had concluded "constructive" unofficial diplomatic talks in the Nordic country that were widely believed to be laying the groundwork for the summits.
In a commentary, the North's official Korean Central News Agency did not directly mention the planned meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, scheduled for May, but this was the first time it had even obliquely acknowledged that plans for the meeting are underway.
"We do like to remind that it is time for all to approach everything with prudence, with self-control and patience," the news agency said in its commentary.
[NUCLEAR NORTH KOREA: Maps, data on country’s nuclear program]
In a turn of events linked to the Winter Olympics, held in South Korea in February, North Korea invited South Korean President Moon Jae-in to a summit with Kim, planned for late next month in the demilitarized zone that divides the Korean Peninsula.
Then, through a South Korean envoy, Kim invited Trump to talks. South Korea has said denuclearization will be on the agenda, but there has been no word from the Kim regime that it is willing to discuss giving up its prized nuclear program.
No location has been decided for the May talks.
There is considerable skepticism about both sets of talks, with some analysts and conservative politicians noting that North Korea has reneged on every deal it has ever signed.
The lack of North Korean confirmation that Kim was willing to meet Trump to talk about denuclearization has only exacerbated those doubts.
However, supporters of diplomacy say that even the prospect of talks is a welcome change from the saber-rattling of 2017, when North Korea tested a series of missiles and a nuclear bomb, and the Trump administration warned repeatedly of military options for making North Korea stop.
"Dishonest forces" in the United States, Japan and South Korea are now "peddling groundless stories about North Korea.
"Thanks to the proactive measure and peace-loving proposal made by the DPRK, dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation has been created in relations between the north and the south of Korea and there has been a sign of change also in the DPRK-U.S. relations," the news agency's commentary said, using the abbreviation for North Korea's official name: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It hit out at "incumbent and former officials and experts of the U.S." who have said North Korea performed a U-turn without Washington having to make any concessions, and those who have said its willingness to talk is because American-led sanctions are crippling the North Korean economy.
"Such rubbish as 'result of sanctions and pressure' ... spread by the hostile forces is just as meaningless as a dog barking at the moon," the commentary said.
North Korea's economy is growing, and Pyongyang's willingness to talk was a sign of its strength, not its desperation, it said.
"It is really an expression of small-mindedness for the riff-raffs to spoil the atmosphere and say this or that even before the parties concerned are given a chance to study the inner thoughts of the other side and are seated at a negotiating table," it said.
Elsewhere, the Finnish foreign ministry said in a brief statement Wednesday that the tripartite talks were held in a positive atmosphere and were aimed at "building confidence and reducing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
Many observers said they believe the Finland meeting was geared toward preparing for the summits.
Eighteen delegates, six from each country, plus observers from the United Nations and Europe attended the secretive two-day talks at a 19th century manor house just outside Helsinki. The gathering kicked off Monday evening with a joint dinner at a Helsinki restaurant where the delegations were seen arriving.
Media were largely kept in the dark about the identities of the delegates and issues on the table, apart from Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini saying Tuesday that denuclearization wasn't on the agenda.
What is known, however, is that senior North Korean diplomat Choe Kang Il, who handles North American affairs for his government, was among delegates from Pyongyang, while the U.S. delegation is believed to have included Kathleen Stephens, the former U.S. ambassador to South Korea.
The Helsinki talks took place just a few days after North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho concluded separate diplomatic talks in neighboring Sweden on Saturday.
Information for this article was contributed by Anna Fifield of the The Washington Post; and by Jari Tanner of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/22/2018