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 by Staff Writers Seoul (AFP) Oct 6, 2019
North Korea said Sunday it has "no intention" to continue nuclear talks unless the United States takes steps to end hostilities, a day after negotiations in Sweden broke down. The discussions in Sweden followed months of stalemate following a February meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, and came after Pyongyang's defiant test of a sea-launched ballistic missile on Wednesday. The North walked away from the Sweden talks saying it was disappointed at the lack of "new and creative" solutions offered by Washington, although the US insisted it was willing to meet again in two weeks. But a spokesman at the North's foreign ministry said Washington's claims about another meeting was "ungrounded". "We have no intention to hold such sickening negotiations as what happened this time before the US takes a substantial step to make complete and irreversible withdrawal of the hostile policy toward the DPRK," he said using the acronyms of the North's official name. In a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, the spokesman warned that their "dealings" may immediately end if the US sticks to its old playbook. "The fate of the future DPRK-US dialogue depends on the US attitude, and the end of this year is its deadline," he added. - 'Good discussions' - In Stockholm, the nuclear-armed North's leading negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, blamed the US for not giving up their "old attitude" which led to talks ending "without any outcome". But Washington called the talks "good discussions", saying the comments by North Korea did not reflect the content or the spirit their eight-and-a-half-hour discussion. The United States accepted host Sweden's invitation to resume talks in two weeks' time, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. Ortagus added in a statement that the US "previewed a number of new initiatives" that would allow progress on the statement reached in Singapore at the first Trump-Kim summit last year. The two leaders adopted a vaguely worded document on the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" at their first summit in June last year, but little progress has since been made. On Wednesday, North Korea claimed to have entered a new phase in its defence capability with Wednesday's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile -- the most provocative since Pyongyang began dialogue with Washington in 2018. Trump has said he sees no problem with a string of short-range missile tests conducted previously by North Korea, while insisting his personal ties with the North's leader remain good. North Korea is banned from ballistic missile launches by the United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Security Council is expected to hold closed-door talks early next week on the latest test at the request of Britain, France and Germany, diplomats said.
US-N.Korea talks end in contrasting assessments The United States accepted host Sweden's invitation to resume talks in two weeks' time, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. The discussions followed months of stalemate after a February meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, and came after Pyongyang's defiant test of a sea-launched ballistic missile on Wednesday. "The negotiations have not fulfilled our expectations and finally broke up... without any outcome. (It) is totally due to the fact that the US would not give up their old... attitude," the nuclear-armed North's leading negotiator Kim Myong Gil told reporters in Stockholm. "The US raised expectations and offered suggestions like flexible approach, new methods and creative solutions but they have disappointed us greatly, and dampened our enthusiasm for negotiations by bringing nothing to the negotiation table," Kim Myong Gil said. He added that North Korea stood "at the crossroads of dialogue or confrontation". Kim Myong Gil's US counterpart was Stephen Biegun, Trump's special envoy. Ortagus said in a statement that "the early comments from the DPRK delegation do not reflect the content or the spirit of today's eight-and-a-half-hour discussion." "The US brought creative ideas and had good discussions with its DPRK counterparts," she said, using the North's formal acronym. Ortagus said the United States "previewed a number of new initiatives" that would allow progress on the statement reached in Singapore at the first Trump-Kim summit last year. The two leaders adopted a vaguely worded document on the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" but little progress has since been made on dismantling the North's nuclear programme. - Dialogue 'needed' - The two sides met at a heavily guarded venue on an island off Stockholm, several hundred metres (yards) from the North Korean embassy, an AFP correspondent said. As the meeting got underway, Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted: "I am encouraged that US and (North Korean) working level delegations are currently in Sweden to hold talks". Dialogue, she said, was "needed to reach denuclearisation and peaceful solution". Similar-level talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament were held in Stockholm in March 2018 and then in January this year. North Korea claimed to have entered a new phase in its defence capability with Wednesday's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile -- the most provocative since Pyongyang began dialogue with Washington in 2018. North Korea frequently couples diplomatic overtures with military moves as a way of maintaining pressure on negotiating partners, analysts say, and may believe this weapons system gives it added leverage. The Pentagon said Thursday the missile seems to have been launched from a "sea-based platform" and not a submarine. Trump has said he sees no problem with a string of short-range missile tests conducted previously by North Korea, while insisting his personal ties with the North's leader remain good. - Heavy sanctions - The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold closed-door talks early next week on the latest test, diplomats said. Those talks were requested by Britain, France and Germany, as the European powers push for the world body to keep up pressure on Pyongyang which is under heavy US and UN sanctions over its weapons program. North Korea is banned from ballistic missile launches by Security Council resolutions. Since the US-North Korea talks began, Russia and China have been calling for the UN to start lifting sanctions so as to create momentum towards the North's denuclearisation. But the United States has refused. "The United States and the DPRK will not overcome a legacy of 70 years of war and hostility on the Korean Peninsula through the course of a single Saturday," Ortagus said. "These are weighty issues, and they require a strong commitment by both countries. The United States has that commitment."
Security Council expected to hold talks on N.Korea test United Nations, United States (AFP) Oct 3, 2019 The UN Security Council is expected to hold-closed door talks on North Korea's test of a sea-launched missile, as European powers push for the world body to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang, diplomats said Thursday. North Korea claimed to have entered a new phase in its defense capability with the test Wednesday of a submarine-launched ballistic missile - the most provocative since Pyongyang began a dialogue with Washington in 2018. The demand for closed-door talks was made by Britain, France ... read more
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