North Korea says no talks unless US stops hostile policies
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Sunday it has "no intention" to continue nuclear talks unless the United States takes steps to end hostilities, a day after negotiations in Sweden broke down.
The discussions in Sweden followed months of stalemate following a February meeting between the North's leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald
The North walked away from the Sweden talks saying
But a spokesman at the North's foreign ministry said Washington's claims about another meeting was "ungrounded".
"We have no intention to hold such sickening negotiations as what happened this time before the US takes a substantial step to make
In a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency, the spokesman warned that their "dealings" may immediately end if the US sticks to its old playbook.
"The fate of the future DPRK-US dialogue depends on the US attitude, and the end of this year is its deadline," he added.
Good discussions
In Stockholm, the nuclear-armed North's leading negotiator, Kim Myong Gil, blamed the US for not giving up their "old attitude" which led to talks ending "
But Washington called the talks "good discussions", saying the comments by North Korea did not reflect the content or the spirit their eight-and-a-half-hour discussion.
The United States accepted host Sweden's invitation to resume talks in two weeks' time, State Department spokeswoman Morgan
The two leaders adopted a vaguely worded document on the "complete
On Wednesday, North Korea claimed to have entered a new phase in its defence capability with Wednesday's test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile
Trump has said he sees no problem with a string of short-range missile tests conducted previously by North Korea, while insisting his personal ties with the North's leader remain good.
The United States formally concluded that North Korea ordered the murder of Kim Jong-Nam, a half-brother and potential rival to ruler Kim Jong-Un, with the VX nerve agent.
"This public display of contempt for universal norms against chemical weapons use further demonstrates the reckless nature of North Korea and underscores that we cannot afford to tolerate a North Korean WMD program of any kind," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
The finding triggered another layer of US economic sanctions against Pyongyang, just as South Korea reported that the regime is ready for talks to end a nuclear standoff.
Suspected North Korean hackers have attempted an attack targeting a major joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington that starts on Monday, South Korean police said.
South Korea and the United States will kick off the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield drills on Monday through August 31 to counter growing threats from the nuclear-armed North.
Pyongyang views such exercises as rehearsals for an invasion and has repeatedly warned it would take "overwhelming" action in response. — AFP
The United States says it was committed to freeing an American soldier who crossed into North Korea, as it voiced caution on remarks attributed to him by Pyongyang.
In North Korea's first comments about last month's crossing of Travis King, state media said Tuesday that the soldier, who is Black, said he fled "racial discrimination" and bore "ill feeling" toward the US Army.
"We would caution everyone to consider the source here. That is incredibly important," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre tells reporters when asked about King's purported remarks. — AFP
A US soldier is believed to have been detained by North Korea after crossing the heavily fortified border -- an incident likely to further aggravate Washington's troubled relations with the nuclear-armed state.
Hours later, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, according to the South Korean military -- an apparent response to the first visit by an American nuclear-armed submarine to a South Korean port in decades.
The events underscored the diplomatic tightrope being walked by Seoul and Washington in the face of an increasingly assertive Pyongyang. — AFP
North Korea threatens to shoot down any US spy planes violating its airspace and condemns Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.
A spokesperson for the North's Ministry of National Defense says the United States has "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level", with "provocative" flights made by US spy aircraft over eight straight days this month, and one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea "several times".
"There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson says in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. — AFP
North Korea has accused a US spy aircraft of violating its airspace and condemned Washington's plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.
A spokesperson for the North's Ministry of National Defence said "provocative" flights were made by US spy aircraft this month, with one reconnaissance plane intruding into its airspace over the East Sea "several times".
"There is no guarantee that such shocking accident as downing of the U.S. Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson said in a statement, carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. — AFP
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