N. Korea says it asked the U.S. for partial relief of sanctions, not a complete removal
- 5 years ago
North Korea has been laying out why it believes the Hanoi summit ended early,.. with President Trump walking away from what he described as a "bad deal."
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Two high-ranking North Korean diplomats held a rare press conference on Thursday night to explain their side of the story,... after U.S. President Donald Trump pinned the blame on North Korea for the failed summit... earlier in the day.
North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho explained... Pyeongyang asked for a partial lifting of sanctions -- not all of them as Trump had claimed.
"There are 11 UN sanctions resolutions imposed on North Korea... and we proposed to the U.S. to lift certain articles in five of them, adopted from 2016 to 2017, that affect the civilian economy and our people's livelihoods."
Ri highlighted... that the North was willing to permanently and completely dismantle its Yeongbyeon nuclear complex, including plutonium and uranium production facilities, with U.S. experts and North Korean technicians working together.
"The U.S. insisted that we should take one more step and it became clear that the U.S. was not ready to accept our proposal. I can't say at this stage whether there can be a better agreement than the one we proposed. It may be difficult for an opportunity like this to come again."
Pyeongyang's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui added to Ri's remarks... saying Kim Jong-un appeared to struggle in understanding the U.S. position... and could have lost his will to negotiate with Washington.
While top North Korean diplomats were speaking to the international press in Hanoi,... back home, the regime's state-run Korean Central News Agency released a rather plain and simple coverage of the summit on Friday.
The report had a warm tone,... but it didn't provide specific details... as to why the summit ended without an agreement.
Watchers say the regime is leaving the door open for future talks with the U.S. to ultimately have sanctions lifted.
It's becoming apparent that sanctions are taking a serious toll on the regime,... which remain the centerpiece of Washington's maximum pressure campaign.
With President Trump's first term to end in 2020, pundits say... time is running out for North Korea, which aims to wrap up its five-year economic development plan by 2020 as well.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Two high-ranking North Korean diplomats held a rare press conference on Thursday night to explain their side of the story,... after U.S. President Donald Trump pinned the blame on North Korea for the failed summit... earlier in the day.
North Korea's Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho explained... Pyeongyang asked for a partial lifting of sanctions -- not all of them as Trump had claimed.
"There are 11 UN sanctions resolutions imposed on North Korea... and we proposed to the U.S. to lift certain articles in five of them, adopted from 2016 to 2017, that affect the civilian economy and our people's livelihoods."
Ri highlighted... that the North was willing to permanently and completely dismantle its Yeongbyeon nuclear complex, including plutonium and uranium production facilities, with U.S. experts and North Korean technicians working together.
"The U.S. insisted that we should take one more step and it became clear that the U.S. was not ready to accept our proposal. I can't say at this stage whether there can be a better agreement than the one we proposed. It may be difficult for an opportunity like this to come again."
Pyeongyang's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui added to Ri's remarks... saying Kim Jong-un appeared to struggle in understanding the U.S. position... and could have lost his will to negotiate with Washington.
While top North Korean diplomats were speaking to the international press in Hanoi,... back home, the regime's state-run Korean Central News Agency released a rather plain and simple coverage of the summit on Friday.
The report had a warm tone,... but it didn't provide specific details... as to why the summit ended without an agreement.
Watchers say the regime is leaving the door open for future talks with the U.S. to ultimately have sanctions lifted.
It's becoming apparent that sanctions are taking a serious toll on the regime,... which remain the centerpiece of Washington's maximum pressure campaign.
With President Trump's first term to end in 2020, pundits say... time is running out for North Korea, which aims to wrap up its five-year economic development plan by 2020 as well.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
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