North
Korea has said it will not relinquish its nuclear weapons until the US
eliminates its own "nuclear threat," according to a commentary published
by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The proper
definition of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is completely
eliminating the American nuclear threat to North Korea before
eliminating our nuclear capability," the commentary says. The US and
North Korea are deadlocked in negotiations over how North Korea will
denuclearize in return for the easing of sanctions. On June 12 in
Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump
signed a vaguely worded pledge to "work toward complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." However, in the six months
since, talks have stalled and North Korean criticism of the US has
sharpened, though Pyongyang has continued to heap praise on Trump. The
commentary published Thursday suggests one obstacle in the negotiations
could be US military assets based in South Korea and the protection of
South Korea under the US nuclear umbrella."When talking about the Korean
peninsula, it encompasses not only our republic's territory but also
South Korea where the American nuclear weapons and armed forces for
invasion are spread out. When talking about denuclearization of the
Korean peninsula, [the US] needs to know that it means eliminating all
nuclear threat factors," the commentary says.The statement also says the
US push toward the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
should include the removal of nuclear threats from "not only the North
and the South, but from all neighboring areas."We will not denuclearize until the US eliminates its own "nuclear threat" - North Korea says
North
Korea has said it will not relinquish its nuclear weapons until the US
eliminates its own "nuclear threat," according to a commentary published
by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). "The proper
definition of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is completely
eliminating the American nuclear threat to North Korea before
eliminating our nuclear capability," the commentary says. The US and
North Korea are deadlocked in negotiations over how North Korea will
denuclearize in return for the easing of sanctions. On June 12 in
Singapore, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump
signed a vaguely worded pledge to "work toward complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." However, in the six months
since, talks have stalled and North Korean criticism of the US has
sharpened, though Pyongyang has continued to heap praise on Trump. The
commentary published Thursday suggests one obstacle in the negotiations
could be US military assets based in South Korea and the protection of
South Korea under the US nuclear umbrella."When talking about the Korean
peninsula, it encompasses not only our republic's territory but also
South Korea where the American nuclear weapons and armed forces for
invasion are spread out. When talking about denuclearization of the
Korean peninsula, [the US] needs to know that it means eliminating all
nuclear threat factors," the commentary says.The statement also says the
US push toward the total denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
should include the removal of nuclear threats from "not only the North
and the South, but from all neighboring areas."
