North Korea "not interested" in Trump's push for denuclearization deal without gains in return: KCNA
  • 4 years ago
U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be attempting to revive dialogue with North Korea.
But Pyeongyang vows to resist until Washington brings something new to the table.
Oh Soo-young has our top story.
North Korea says it has no interest in another sit-down between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump,... unless the U.S. has something to offer in return.
That's according to a statement by Pyeongyang's Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye-gwan, which was published Monday on state media KCNA.
Claiming that the U.S. has been putting on a pretense of progress in their ties while playing for time,... the official said the North has lost interest in summits that have nothing to offer.
He said the regime will not provide anything for the U.S. leader to brag about unless it can gain something in return,... adding that if Washington wants to continue talks,... it should withdraw its "hostile policy" of viewing Pyeongyang as its enemy.
The statement was a response to President Donald Trump's tweet on Sunday,... calling on the North's leader to "act quickly,"... and "get a deal done" to break their current impasse on denuclearization talks.
"I think what North Korea wants has been put on the table already. What North Korea wants is basially two things: economic assistance, lifting of the sanctions, and security assurances."
Trump said he's "the only one" who can get North Korean leader Kim Jong-un where he has to be,... possibly referring to security guarantees for the regime.
"Security assurances are more complex obviously because it involves a change of the security architecture the U.S. has designed for North Korea. For example, it has implications on the future of the U.S.-ROK alliance and also has implication for the U.S. promise of extending the U.S. nuclear umbrella for the protection of South Korea."
President Trump's comments came as Seoul and Washington announced the postponement of their upcoming combined military exercises earlier in the day.
U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper called the decision an "act of goodwill",... intended to promote diplomacy and he called on Pyeongyang to "return to the negotiating table without preconditions or hesitation."
Despite joint efforts by South Korea and the U.S to bring North Korea back to the table,... KCNA reported on Monday that its leader has been supervising North Korean air force drills.
It said that Kim Jong-un was very pleased after watching an airborne landing training,... and commented that training should be carried out in a harsh environment --to improve the war readiness of the armed forces.
Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.
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