North Korea blames ‘dishonest’ US position for failed Hanoi summit, wants 'new calculation' to resume talks

US trying to shift the blame for the breakdown of the second summit by raising a “completely irrelevant issue”: foreign ministry spokesman

Kim has set a year-end deadline for the US to show more flexibility, but Trump has brushed that aside

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Donald Trump shakes hands with Kim Jong-un in Hanoi. Photo: AFP

Published: 6:58pm, 24 May 2019Updated: 6:58pm, 24 May 2019

North Korea said on Friday an “arbitrary and dishonest” US position had resulted in the failure to reach a deal during a second North Korea-US summit, warning the nuclear issue would never be resolved without a new approach.

A spokesman for North Korea’s foreign ministry accused the US of trying to shift the blame for the breakdown of the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump in February by raising a “completely irrelevant issue”. He did not elaborate.

“The underlying cause of setback of the DPRK-U S summit talks in Hanoi is the arbitrary and dishonest position taken by the United States, insisting on a method, which is totally impossible to get through,” the unidentified spokesman said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

“The United States would not be able to move us even an inch with the device it is now weighing in its mind, and the further its mistrust and hostile acts towards the DPRK grow, the fiercer our reaction will be.”

The official was referring to North Korea by the initials of its official name – the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The statement was the latest criticism of the US since the failed summit in Vietnam, where Kim had sought sanctions relief in return for the partial dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear programme.

Trump called for a full road map for denuclearisation, including the transfer of bombs to the US.