Speaking out this Sunday, North Korea declared that its decision to denuclearize had nothing to do with pressure from the U.S.
According to the country’s state news agency, the U.S. is “misleading public opinion” by claiming that Pyongyang’s decision to denuclearize was caused by sanctions and pressure, Reuters reports.
Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged to partake in a “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula on April 27. The summit was the first to take place between the two nations in more than a decade, but did not include any specifics on how the plan would be enacted.
According to a North Korean foreign ministry spokesman, the U.S. taking the credit for the breakthrough “cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hardly-won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one.”
The statement also warned the U.S. not to interpret NK’s “peace-loving intention” as a sign of weakness.
The spokesman also reportedly warned the U.S. to not “deliberately provoke” NK by focusing on their human rights record.
In the run-up to a planned meeting with Kim in the coming weeks, President Trump said the U.S. will maintain sanctions and pressure on NK so as to not “repeat the mistakes of past administrations.”
Giuliani, a member of Trump's legal team who doesn't work for the White House and doesn't have a security clearance, said last week that the three Americans held in North Korea would be released Thursday. It's Monday and I'm told there is still no update regarding their release.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) May 7, 2018
The statement from NK contradicts a statement from South Korea’s Moon, who said that Trump deserves a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the breakthrough.
As Reuters points out, the two nations are technically still at war “because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.” South Korea has requested U.S. troops to stay in the area even after a peace treaty is concluded.
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