A Japan-based newspaper considered to represent North Korea's stance overseas has indicated that Pyongyang is treating inter-Korean relations separately from its dealings with the United States. 

In an article posted on its Web site Tuesday, the Choson Sinbo said that having progress on dialogue between the North and the U.S. does not mean that it will automatically resolve what brought the suspension of high-ranking inter-Korean talks. 

The pro-Pyongyang newspaper claimed that if “war commotion” directed at the North continues, the two Koreas will not have high-ranking talks continuously. 

It also blamed South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, calling them an explicit expression of hostile policies toward the North and saying any military exercises involving nuclear weapons is considered a nuclear threat. 

The North abruptly canceled last Wednesday’s high-ranking talks intended to follow through with the inter-Korean summit last month, citing the Max Thunder air drills between Seoul and Washington. 

The Choson Sinbo said the North is consistent in its demand that the U.S. should end its hostile and nuclear threat first before the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. 

The paper also criticized Seoul for allegedly depending on external forces and maintaining its confrontational stance toward the North, saying the South’s dependence on sincerity and tolerance of the North will create another stumbling block to the implementation of the Panmunjeom Declaration. 

[Photo : YONHAP News]