SEOUL: North Korea is considering suspending denuclearization talks with Washington after the Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump ended without agreement, one of its top diplomats said Friday.
The warning came amid concerns over the North’s satellite rocket launch site, where some rebuilding activity has been observed in recent weeks, triggering international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch.
“We have no intention to yield to the US demands in any form, nor are we willing to engage in negotiations of this kind,” the Russian news agency TASS cited vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui as saying.
Kim would soon make an official statement on the actions his country would take, Choe told reporters and foreign diplomats in Pyongyang.
Trump told a post-summit press conference in Hanoi that the North Korean leader had promised he would maintain his moratorium on missile and nuclear tests.
Any launch would send the denuclearization talks into complete disarray, after they were left stuttering when the summit ended without agreement two weeks ago.
Choe — who was present in Vietnam — blamed the US for the failure, saying Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton “created the atmosphere of hostility and mistrust” and “obstructed” Kim and Trump’s “constructive effort.”
“As a result, the summit ended with no significant result,” she added.
It is a change of tone from Pyongyang, after both sides expressed their willingness to carry on the discussion process in Hanoi.
Ankit Panda, of the Federation of American Scientists, said Kim’s unilateral declaration of the ICBM testing moratorium was “now in question.”
It could mean a decision had already been made, he tweeted, but added that it did not mean a launch was imminent.
“One play is for Kim to reaffirm the moratorium. Kim looks big,” he said. “That also keeps China happy for now.
“Another play is to renounce the moratorium, which would be risky,” as it would upset China, be “disappointing” to Trump, and “squanders the inter-Korean process.”
Seoul’s presidential office sought to play down the vice-minister’s comments, saying it was “premature to assess the current situation only with Choe’s remarks.”
South Korea will continue to work for the resumption of talks, it added.
Washington wants what administration officials have called a “big deal,” with the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction in return for the dropping of sanctions that have hit the isolated North’s economy.
“Nobody in the administration advocates a step-by-step approach,” a senior State Department official told reporters last week.
The North says it only called for the partial lifting of UN sanctions imposed 2016-17 that affect people’s livelihoods.
But Washington sees these measures as the bulk of economic sanctions that brought Kim to the table, and believes without them it would lose leverage in future talks.
Pyongyang favors a more incremental approach, with Kim proposing dismantling facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear complex in exchange for lifting the main sanctions — an offer Trump refused in Hanoi despite the vaunted “chemistry” between the pair.
In his New Year’s speech — a key political event in the North — Kim said he would be “compelled to find a new way for defending the sovereignty” of the state if Washington “persists in imposing sanctions and pressure.”
North Korea considering suspending nuclear talks with US
North Korea considering suspending nuclear talks with US
- Kim would soon make an official statement on the actions his country would take
- The warning came amid concerns over the North’s satellite rocket launch site, where some rebuilding activity has been observed in recent weeks
Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin’s home, Kyiv calls this ‘lie’
- Zelensky called Russia’s claim “complete fabrication” designed to derail peace process, suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify bombardment of Ukraine
KYIV: Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of President Vladimir Putin’s homes, an accusation that Ukraine called a “lie” aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired “91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles” at Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.
“Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia’s negotiating position will be reconsidered,” Lavrov said, without elaborating.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who met with US President Donald Trump on Sunday for talks on ending the war, called Russia’s claim “a complete fabrication” designed to derail the peace process and suggested Moscow was preparing to intensify its bombardment of Ukraine.
“Russia is at it again, using dangerous statements to undermine all achievements of our shared diplomatic efforts with President Trump’s team,” the Ukrainian leader wrote on X.
Russia’s accusation comes at a pivotal moment in the peace process.
Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 percent of a US-drafted peace plan — including the issue of post-war security guarantees — though the issue of territory in a post-war settlement remains unresolved.
Russia, which has stayed silent about what parts of the US plan it has agreed to, said Monday it was still committed to the peace process but would “revise” its position in light of the alleged drone attack.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a “special military operation” to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.
Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.
Territory main sticking point
Trump has held talks with both sides in recent days, including a phone call with Putin on Monday that the White House described as “positive.”
During talks with Zelensky on Sunday, Trump offered Kyiv long-sought-after security guarantees for a period of 15 years, according to Kyiv.
But the issue of territory and the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remain unresolved, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Monday that Kyiv was ready for “any” format of meetings — including with Putin if necessary — but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace.
The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and establish a demilitarised area.
But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise.
Putin said Monday that Russia was pressing ahead with its plan to capture four Ukrainian regions it announced the annexation of in 2022 and that his troops were “confidently advancing.”
Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
