North Korean officials return to inter-Korean liaison office days after US President Donald Trump’s decision not to impose new sanctions on Pyongyang

Days after US President Donald Trump opted not to impose extra sanctions on North Korea, Pyongyang has reversed a decision to pull its staff from an inter-Korean liaison office

The continued presence of North Koreans at the liaison office suggested Pyongyang’s satisfaction over Trump’s decision to hold off on more sanctions, said analysts

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The four-storey joint liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong. Photo: EPA

Published: 5:11pm, 25 Mar 2019Updated: 5:20pm, 25 Mar 2019

Days after US President Donald Trump opted not to impose extra sanctions on North Korea, Pyongyang has reversed a decision to pull its entire staff from an inter-Korean liaison office.

North Korean officials on Monday returned to work at the office in the northern city of Kaesong, after the US on Thursday imposed the first new sanctions on Pyongyang since the collapse of the second Trump-Kim summit.

However, Trump on Friday said he ordered the withdrawal of new large-scale sanctions on North Korea, a move experts said could be an effort to defuse tensions or signalling that the “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign on Pyongyang was not going to get any stronger.

“It was announced today by the US Treasury that additional large scale Sanctions would be added to those already existing Sanctions on North Korea. I have today ordered the withdrawal of those additional Sanctions!” Trump said in a tweet.

A border checkpoint, south of the DMZ, in Paju. Photo: Yonhap

He appeared to be referring to measures unveiled on Thursday that targeted two Chinese companies accused of helping North Korea to evade tight international sanctions meant to pressure Pyongyang into ending its nuclear weapons programme.

The withdrawal of North Korean staff had been seen as a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attempts to engage with Pyongyang. The liaison office was opened in September and had been one of the key developments made during the detente between North Korea and South Korea in the past year.

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