North Korea quits liaison office in blow to South diplomacy talks
Move follows threat to pull out from US nuclear negotiations
North Korea has abruptly withdrawn its staff from a liaison office with South Korea in a development that is likely to strain ties between the countries and further complicate global diplomacy on the nuclear programme run under leader Kim Jong-un.
The action yesterday by North Korea came a week after its vice foreign minister threatened to pull out of nuclear negotiations with the United States, citing a lack of American steps to match disarmament measures it took last year.
Choe Son Hui’s warning followed a Us-north Korea summit last month that collapsed due to disputes over American-led sanctions on the North.
North Korea informed South Korean officials of its deci- sion during a meeting yesterday at the liaison office in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, Seoul’s unification ministry said.
North Korea said it was withdrawing its staff under instructions from unspecified “higher-level authorities”. A ministry statement did not say whether the withdrawal would be temporary or permanent.
South Korea called the North’s decision regrettable and urged Mr Kim’s administration to return its staff to the liaison office soon.
The withdrawal is a major setback for South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who has sought improved relations with North Korea alongside the nuclear negotiations between the North and the United States.
Mr Moon’s office said presidential national security adviser Chung Eui-yong convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the North Korean withdrawal.
Mr Moon said inter-korean reconciliation was crucial for achieving progress in nuclear negotiations, but the breakdown of last month’s summit between Mr Kim and US president Donald Trump has created a difficult environment to push engagement with the North.
North Korean state media have recently demanded that South Korea distance itself from the US and resume joint economic projects that have been held back by the American-led sanctions against the North.
Analyst Cheong Seongchang, from South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said North Korea may be trying to pressure South Korea to back its position with the United States more strongly. “It’s hard to rule out the possibility that the North will soon announce a hardline statement regarding the denuclearisation negotiations,” Mr Cheong said.
Last Friday, Ms Choe said her country had no intention of compromising or continuing the nuclear talks unless the US takes steps commensurate with those the North has taken such as its moratorium on missile launches and weapons tests and changes its “political calculation”. She said Mr Kim would soon decide whether to continue the talks and the moratorium.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo responded by saying the US expects Mr Kim to honour his promise to keep missile launches and nuclear tests on hold.
The unification ministry statement said North Korea had declared it “will not mind the South remaining” in the liaison office and that it would notify the South about practical matters later. South Korean vice unification minister Chun Hae-sung said the South planned to continue to staff the liaison office normally and expected the North would continue to allow the South Koreans to commute to the office.
The office opened in September as part of a flurry of reconciliation steps that also included North Korea’s participation in last year’s South Korean Winter Olympics, the mutual dismantling of frontline guard posts and the halting of military exercises along their border.