North Korea’s foreign ministry had a slightly different interpretation of the negotiations in the North Korean capital city.
“The U.S. side came only with its unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization just calling for CVID, declaration and verification, all of which run counter to the spirit of the Singapore summit meeting and talks,” a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea asserted that the U.S. failed to address their demands, such as bringing an end to the Korean War and establishing a permanent peace mechanism for the peninsula.
“The issues the U.S. side insisted on at the talks are all roots of troubles, which the previous administrations also had insisted on to disrupt the dialogue processes, stoke the distrust and increase the risk of war,” the foreign ministry said.
“The first DPRK-U.S. high-level talks [since the Singapore summit] brought us in a dangerous situation where we may be shaken in our unshakable will for denuclearization, rather than consolidating trust between the DPRK and the U.S.,” the statement said, suggesting that North Korea may turn away from the path to denuclearization if the U.S. does not change its attitude.
Rather than change course after North Korea’s rebuke, Pompeo doubled down, reaffirming his position.
“If those requests were gangster-like, the world is a gangster, because there was a unanimous decision at the U.N. Security Council about what needs to be achieved,” the secretary said, insisting that the U.S. and North Korea “made progress.”
We had “good faith, productive conversations which will continue in the weeks ahead,” he added, while noting that “sanctions will remain in place until final, fully verified denuclearisation as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un) occurs.” – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]When Secretary of State Mike Pompeo left on Thursday for continued denuclearization talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, he carried with him two gifts from President Donald Trump. Along with a letter from Trump, Pompeo planned to hand deliver a CD copy of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”
Besides a letter from @POTUS, Kim Jong Un will also receive from @SecPompeo an @eltonofficial CD — signed by @realDonaldTrump — containing the song 'Rocket Man,' according to @Chosun. https://t.co/wbN43rFWUO
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) July 6, 2018
The gift was not only a reference to the nickname given to Kim by President Trump last year — when the two were engaged in a tit-for-tat that included a number of traded barbs, insults and shows of force — but also to their recent June summit, when Trump learned that Kim had never heard the song. – READ MORE
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