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N. Korea: No Interest in Talks as Long as Military Threats Continue

Write: 2019-08-22 09:28:06

Thumbnail : YONHAP News

A day after U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun made overtures for dialogue, North Korea said it has no interest in denuclearization talks as long as South Korea and the United States maintain "hostility" toward Pyongyang.

In a statement published on the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency website on Thursday, a spokesperson for the North's Foreign Ministry said that Pyongyang remains "unchanged in our position to resolve all issues in a peaceful manner through dialogue and negotiation. However, dialogue accompanied by military threats is of no interest to us.”

Describing the South's planned deployment of new weapons such as F-35A fighter jets as a breach of inter-Korean agreements, the spokesperson repeated previous North Korean claims that the moves are a "grave provocation." 

The statement also said that continued military activities by South Korea and the U.S. are weakening momentum for establishing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. 

The North added that military hostilities are making the North reconsider the need to enhance its deterrence capabilities.

Biegun, who is on a three-day trip to Seoul, said on Wednesday that Washington is prepared to engage in nuclear dialogue with North Korea as soon as it responds.

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