North Korea wants U.S. concessions

‘No way we will denuclearize’ unless sanctions lifted, official

North Korea’s foreign minister said Saturday that there was “no way we will denuclearize” without getting trust-building concessions from the United States, an assertion that reflected a continuing divide over efforts to ease nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

“Without any trust in the United States, there will be no confidence in our national security, and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first,” the North Korean minister, Ri Yong Ho, told the U.N. General Assembly.

The United States has called for North Korea to surrender all of its nuclear capabilities first, before other issues can be negotiated. The North insists it needs reciprocal concessions from the U.S., including the lift- ing of crippling economic sanctions and an official declaration that the 1950-53 Korean War has ended.

Ri expressed a “firm determination to turn the Korean Peninsula into a land of peace” but said the U.S.-backed sanctions were a “hostile policy.”

The administration has been trying to revive nuclear talks with Kim Jong Un, the North’s leader. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Ri on Wednesday to discuss a potential second summit between President Donald Trump and Kim.

Pompeo described his discussions with Ri as “very positive.” But throughout his time at the United Nations this past week, Pompeo emphasized that continued sanctions would be part of the Americans’ approach.

“We are well into a diplomatic process, and we hope — indeed, we want — to see this through to a successful end,” Pompeo said last week. “I want to reiterate that the future can be very bright for North Korea if it makes good on its commitment to final, fully verified denuclearization.”

The question of declaring an official end to the Korean War has exposed a potential gap between Seoul and Washington.

After meeting with Kim in North Korea this month, South Korea President Moon Jae-in urged the U.S. to declare an end to the war as an incentive for the North to denuclearize. Washington has been hesitant to sign a peace accord before Pyongyang denuclearizes.