North Korea says might reconsider Trump summit
NSA’S plan of ‘Libyastyle’ denuclearisation touches a nerve
SEOUL: North Korea threw next month’s summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump into doubt on Wednesday, threatening weeks of diplomatic progress by saying it may reconsider if Washington insists it unilaterally gives up its nuclear weapons.
The North’s official KCNA news agency said earlier Pyongyang had called off high-level talks with Seoul due on Wednesday, in the first sign of trouble after months of warming ties.
Citing first vice minister of foreign affairs Kim Kye Gwan, KCNA said the fate of the unprecedented Us-north Korea summit, as well as bilateral relations, “would be clear” if the United States spoke of a “Libya-style” denuclearisation for the North.
Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12.
The vice minister specifically criticised US national security adviser John Bolton, who has called for North Korea to quickly give up its nuclear arsenal in a deal that mirrors Libya’s abandonment of its weapons of mass destruction.
North Korea clashed with Bolton when he worked under George W Bush administration, calling him “human scum” and a “bloodsucker”.
“We shed light on the quality of Bolton already in the past, and we do not hide our feeling of repugnance towards him,” vice minister Kim said.
The North Korean statement, as well its cancellation of the talks with the South, mark a dramatic reversal in tone from recent months when both sides embraced efforts to negotiate.