Korea slams Pompeo over remarks on increased pressure
Pressure
Seoul, March 30, 2020 (Yonhap/NAN) North Korea lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Monday for seeking continued international pressure against the regime while calling for the resumption of dialogue.
In a statement carried by the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the North’s “new director” in charge of negotiations with the U.S. threatened Pyongyang will take its “own way” amid stalled talks over its nuclear programme.
The official accused Pompeo of encouraging other nations to stay committed to applying diplomacy.
He also accused him of economic pressure against North Korea, during a news conference recently, after a video conference among foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) major economies.
“The initiative for dialogue that the U.S. has proposed to earn time and create environments, favourable for its president, was seriously damaged,’’ the statement read.
The official then claimed that however great and strong the friendly relationship between the leaders of the two nations is, “it cannot change the U.S.’s hostile policy against us’’.
President Donald Trump has boasted of his good relations with North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un.
Recently, North Korea said that Trump sent a personal letter to Kim and expressed his intention to help Pyongyang fight against the coronavirus.
According to Pompeo, Pyongyang has not, however, responded to the U.S. offer.
The North Korean official then warned the U.S. not to provoke the North, which would only lead to adverse consequences.
Negotiations between the two sides on the North’s nuclear weapons programme have been stalled since the no-deal Hanoi summit between Trump and Kim in February 2019.
Although, he said it was due to wide differences over the scope of Pyongyang’s denuclearisation measures and Washington’s sanctions relief.
Since then, the North has stressed its self-reliance and moved to beef up defence capabilities.
In 2019, Kim Jong-un said that he has no expectation that the U.S. would lift sanctions and called for seeking a breakthrough to tackle challenges. (Yonhap/NAN)
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Edited by Abiodun Oluleye/Abdulfatah Babatunde