Without economic gains, North Korea ‘may lose interest’ in summit with US
By threatening to walk away from meeting, Pyongyang is sending a warning to US that it wants something in return for denuclearisation, observers say
Pyongyang is trying to maximise its bargaining power to get more economic concessions from Washington and Seoul – even before it fully gives up its nuclear weapons – by threatening to pull out of the upcoming summit with the US, observers said.
North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency said Pyongyang had no choice but to “take a step of suspending the North-South high-level talks”, accusing Washington and Seoul of provocation by staging the “largest ever ... Max Thunder joint air drill throughout South Korea”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meanwhile told Pak Tae-song, from North Korea’s ruling Worker’s Party, in Beijing on Wednesday that China supported North Korea’s efforts to develop its economy and hold dialogue with the US, state-run Xinhua reported.
A source from the South Korean air force described the exercise as a “regular defensive drill to protect our sovereignty”, and said there had been no change at this stage to scale it down.