Anchor: Pyongyang is ramping up pressure on Washington ahead of the first anniversary of the historic U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12th to rethink its push for a big deal. Pyongyang's foreign ministry called on Washington to change its calculus to resume stalled nuclear talks but Washington officials are reaffirming that the U.S. will not accept anything less than final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: North Korean media on Tuesday relayed a statement from its Foreign Ministry aimed at Washington.  

[Sound bite: Korean Central TV Anchor (Korean)]
"The U.S. would be well-advised to change its current method of calculation and respond to our request as soon as possible. There is a limit to our patience."

Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have deadlocked since their Hanoi summit broke down in February. Pyongyang has since tried to convince Washington to reformat its push for a "big deal" in which the North would denuclearize first before the U.S. agrees to sanctions relief. 

[Sound bite: Korean Central TV Anchor (Korean)] 
"It is regrettable to see that the United States has become ever more undisguised during the past year in its scheme to annihilate us by force while deliberately turning its face away from the implementation of North Korea-U.S. joint agreements and only insisting on our unilateral surrender of nuclear weapons."

The North's Foreign Ministry also said the effectiveness of the June 12th joint statement following last year's Singapore summit will depend on how the U.S. responds to the North's "just and fair stance." 

The U.S., meanwhile, reaffirmed its position earlier in the week, with the State Department's Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Andrea Thompson saying the North's final, fully verified denuclearization was what the two leaders agreed to in Singapore.

During a Monday telephone briefing, Thompson stressed that this definition of denuclearization will continue to be the standard sought by the U.S. and the international community.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : YONHAP News]