US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo speaks during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the Korean peninsula issue at the UN headquarters, where North Korea has most recently rejected US demands for denuclearisation. Photo: Xinhua
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https://scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2166332/north-korea-says-no-way-it-will-disarm-us-sanctions-place East Asia
North Korea says ‘no way’ it will disarm with US sanctions in place
N Korea tells the UN that Washington has created a deadlock in talks on denuclearisation because of coercive measures that are lethal to building trust
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, Saturday, September 29, 2018 at UN headquarters. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
North Korea’s foreign minister on Saturday told the United Nations there was “no way” that his country would disarm first as long as the United States continued to push for tough enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Ri Yong Ho accused Washington of creating a deadlock in talks on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
“The recent deadlock is because the US relies on coercive measures which are lethal to trust-building,” Ri told the assembly.
“Without any trust in the US, there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances, there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first.”
The United States is insisting on a “denuclearisation-first” policy that “increases the level of pressure by sanctions to achieve their purpose in a coercive manner,” said the foreign minister.
“The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe dream of the people who are ignorant about us.”
Without any trust in the US, there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances, there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first
Led by the United States, the Security Council adopted three sanctions resolutions last year aimed at depriving North Korea of revenue for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
A landmark summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June led to a warming of ties and a halt in Pyongyang’s missile launches, but there has been little concrete progress toward denuclearisation.
This week, Ri met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who agreed to return to Pyongyang next month to discuss US demands that the North scrap its weapons programs.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang, North Korea. Despite Moon’s claims that Kim is making specific steps toward denuclearisation, North Korea’s Foreign Minister says, ‘there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves’. Photo: AP
Pompeo will also try to arrange a second summit between Trump and Kim, whose June meeting in Singapore was the first ever between sitting leaders of the long-time enemy states.
Ri told the UN assembly that his government had stopped nuclear and missile tests, dismantled a nuclear test site and continued to make efforts to build trust.
“However we do not see any corresponding response from the US,” he said.