North Korea accused the United States this week of showing bad faith in ongoing denuclearization negotiations by allegedly carrying out nuclear and missile tests as part of an “evil ambition” to conquer dictator Kim Jong-un’s rogue regime by force.
“The U.S. has thus showcased its ulterior intention that it seeks a strength-based solution of the issues, though outwardly it advocates for dialogue,” the policy research director of the Institute for American Studies of North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared in a statement on Wednesday, Reuters noted, echoing the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
In the statement, North Korean officials denounced the recent U.S.-South Korean military drills and American missile defense exercises as well as test launches of intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, Reuters reported.
For months, U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim have engaged in failed negotiations towards the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in exchange for relief from crippling sanctions and the threat of war.
Despite two historic Trump-King meetings towards the goal, the U.S. has failed to convince the North to drop its nuclear program. The U.S. has vowed to keep economic pressure on North Korea until it agrees to its demands.
Referring to commitments by Trump and Kim at the first summit last year to establish a new era of relations, the statement for the North said, “All the above clearly shows that the June 12 … Joint Statement is not within the consideration of the United States, and there is no change at all in the evil American ambition to conquer (North Korea) by force.”
“The U.S. should better bear in mind that its hostile acts will only bring about the result of adding tension to the already unstable Korean Peninsula and inviting adverse current. Use of strength is not at all a monopoly of the United States,” it added.
On Wednesday, North Korea explicitly blasted the Trump administration for allegedly conducting “the 29th subcritical nuclear test at the nuclear test site of Nevada on February 13,” adding that the move “arouses grave concern and denunciation of the international society,” the state-owned KCNA reported.
The subcritical nuclear test was allegedly carried out right before the Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi in February aimed at negotiations of a lasting and stable peace on the Korean peninsula.
North Korean officials accused Trump officials of insulting Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) officials and engaging in political, economic, and military hostile acts against the regime, KCNA noted, adding:
Even after the U.S. committed to an “establishment of new DPRK-U.S. relations” in the June 12 DPRK-U.S. Joint Statement, [John] Bolton, White House National Security Advisor, [Mike] Pompeo, Secretary of State, and other high-ranking officials of the U.S. diplomacy and security circles have insulted the dignity of our supreme leadership and spitted out abusive language to the DPRK, calling it as “rogue regime”, and unveiled their hostile scheme to stifle us by force, saying that the U.S. would “change its path” if the DPRK does not give in to the former’s demand for dismantlement of the nuke first.
“At the same time, the U.S. has continued to pursue its strategy of ‘maximum pressure’ against us and attempted to suffocate us economically.”
The Trump administration has vowed to keep its pressure on North Korea until it agrees to take concrete steps towards denuclearization.
KCNA noted:
The U.S. has also militarily threatened the DPRK by staging Marine Corp Joint Exercise, “Dong Maeng (Alliance) 19-1”, Joint Aerial Combat Drill and other various war games with South Korea in November last year and in March-April this year.
During the period between March and May this year, the U.S. conducted a missile interception test simulating the interception of the DPRK’s ICBMs at the air force base in California, test-launched ICBM “MinuteMan-3” and SLBM “Trident-2 D-5” targeted at the DPRK and its surrounding countries and also increased the reconnaissance flights over the DPRK.
Reuters quoted an unnamed spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department as saying Washington remains “committed to the goals agreed by Trump and Kim “of transformed U.S.-North Korean relations, building lasting peace, and complete denuclearization.”
“The U.S. remains ready to engage in constructive discussions,” she added.
North Korea’s statement came days after President Trump, who says he is still interested in pursuing talks with Kim, sought to play down the dictator’s first missile tests since 2017, which he conducted in May.
“Use of strength is not at all a monopoly of the United States,” KCNA reported.
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