Anchor: North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations on Monday urged the U.S. to implement last year's agreement between the leaders of the two nations, accusing the U.S. of "political and military provocations." The remarks came after Pyongyang set a year-end deadline for Washington to change its calculus, while the two sides are still struggling to narrow gaps on the terms of the North's denuclearization.
Albert Kim has more.  

Report: North Korea is pressing the U.S. to change its calculus and respect the spirit of last year's agreement made in Singapore between their two leaders. 

[Sound bite: N. Korean Ambassador to UN Kim Song (English)] 
"[The] DPRK has refrained from nuclear tests and ICBM test-fire for more than 20 months each. It is the clearest expression of our sincere goodwill..."

North Korean Ambassador Kim Song issued the call during a speech at a UN General Assembly meeting on the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) in New York. 

[Sound bite: N. Korean Ambassador to UN Kim Song (English)] 
"More than one year has passed since the adoption of the June 12th DPRK-U.S. joint statement. However, relations between [the] DPRK and [the] U.S. has made little progress so far and [the] situation on the Korean Peninsula has not extricated itself from [the] vicious cycle of aggravated tensions, which is entirely attributable to the political and military provocation perpetrated by [the] U.S. resorting to [an] anachronistic, hostile policy against [the] DPRK." 

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their first summit in Singapore in June 2018 and reached a rough accord to work toward denuclearization. 

At the following Hanoi summit earlier this year, Trump and Kim Jong-un disagreed on the level of denuclearization that would be enough to lift sanctions on Pyongyang.    

The North Korean leader in April set a year-end deadline for the U.S. to be more flexible in negotiations, pressing Washington to soften its stance by then. 

[Sound bite: N. Korean Ambassador to UN Kim Song (English)] 
"[The] introduction of the latest offensive weapon and U.S.-South Korea joint military exercise targeting [the] DPRK constitutes [a] flagrant violation and challenge to [the] North-South joint declaration and inter-Korean agreement in military fields."
 
The IAEA's acting Director General Cornel Feruta said at the meeting that the North's nuclear activities remain a cause for serious concern and that its nuclear program is in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.  

While urging North Korea to immediately cooperate with the IAEA, Feruta added that his agency continues to monitor Pyongyang's nuclear program, including through satellite imagery.
Albert Kim, KBS World Radio News.