Story highlights North Korean diplomat speaks after Trump's remarks on possible meeting

South Korea elected a liberal this week who favors a more open policy

(CNN) North Korea would hold talks with the United States "under the right conditions," a senior North Korean diplomat said Saturday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Choe Son Hui, director-general of the North America bureau chief of North Korea's Foreign Ministry, spoke to reporters Saturday at the Beijing Capital International Airport.

She made the remarks more than a week after President Donald Trump said he would be willing to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "under the right circumstances."

Such rhetoric contrasts sharply with the tensions between the United States and North Korea.

Pyongyang has sought to advance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Washington has made a show of force in the region to deter their use.

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