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| Choe Son-hui, vice minister of North Korea's foreign ministry / Korea Times file |
By Park Ji-won
A senior North Korean diplomat said Thursday she would have to ask the country's leader Kim Jong-un to pull out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump unless Washington stops "insulting" the regime.
This came after Trump hinted at the possibility of delaying the summit, scheduled for June 12 in Singapore, while meeting President Moon Jae-in at the White House, Tuesday.
Choe Son-hui, vice minister of the North's foreign ministry, was quoted by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as condemning U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for his remarks made in an interview with Fox News, Monday, that the removal of the North's nuclear weapons could end up like the Libya model of denuclearization unless the North makes a deal with the U.S.
"It depends totally on the U.S. whether we will meet at the discussion venue or face each other in a nuclear war," the KCNA quoted her as saying.
"I, who am dealing with the U.S. affairs, am surprised that the U.S.'s vice president could say such stupid and ignorant remarks. If he is the vice president of the strongest country, he should understand what is going on in the world and feel the easing political tension. If the U.S. insults our goodwill and continues to take unlawful actions, I will officially suggest that we should reconsider holding the North-U.S summit to the leaders."
This is the second time for the North to put up a top diplomat, directly related to negotiations with the U.S., to criticize remarks on the Libya model and threaten to withdraw from the planned summit.
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On May 16, North Korea threatened to cancel the Singapore summit, saying Washington was "unilaterally" demanding the regime relinquish its nuclear weapons according to a statement by North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan released by the KCNA.
Kim said the North felt "repugnance" toward U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton and top officials and rejected the Libya model.
North Korea has been insisting along with China's Xi Jinping that it would take a step-by-step process in dismantling its nuclear program.
Choe also said "we will neither beg the U.S. for conversation nor make efforts to persuade them if they do not want to sit face-to-face with us."
The level of North's criticism against the U.S. has escalated compared to the last statement by Kim, but the rank of the official was lower.
Still, observers point out Choe's criticism did not mean the summit would be canceled, while noting it might be if the present situation continues.
"It is not a good sign for the North to make such a remark as it is hard to make an agreement even though they created a harmonious atmosphere for dialogue," Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University told The Korea Times.
"Choe's statement could be considered as the North's move to secure a leading position in setting the agenda, but if it goes too far, it could turn into distrust against each other leading to a failure to hold the summit."
When asked about the South Korean government's understanding of Choe's statement, officials said they were discussing the issue with related countries including the U.S. to achieve denuclearization at the Kim-Trump summit.
"The government is thoroughly analyzing the recent moves including Choe's statement. The government is having close discussions with the U.S. and other countries so that the goal of complete denuclearization that was settled on at the inter Korean summit can be achieved in the Kim-Trump summit," Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said in a briefing.
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