Pyongyang also accused US officials of ‘going against the intention of President Trump’ by ‘making baseless allegations against us and making desperate attempts at intensifying’ sanctions and pressure
North Korea accused the United States on Thursday of pushing for international sanctions despite goodwill moves by Pyongyang and said that progress on denuclearisation promises could not be expected if Washington continued to follow an “outdated acting script”.
A foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement on state-run KCNA that North Korea was still willing to institute the broad agreement reached at the June 12 summit meeting in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The two sides vowed at that time to work towards North Korea’s denuclearisation but have struggled to reach a deal to meet that goal, with the United States insisting that sanctions pressure must be maintained during negotiations.
The North Korean statement followed comments this week by top American diplomats stressing the need for Pyongyang to take additional steps toward denuclearisation. Those followed contentious remarks last week by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho on the sidelines of a regional forum in Singapore.
North Korea’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it had stopped missile and nuclear tests and dismantled “the nuclear test ground”, yet the United States still insisted on “denuclearisation first”.
