Pyongyang suspends high-level talks with Seoul
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea threatened to cancel the planned summit between its leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, Wednesday, saying Washington is "unilaterally" demanding the regime relinquish its nuclear weapons.
"We will have to reconsider whether to respond to the upcoming Pyongyang-Washington summit if the U.S. drives us into a corner by unilaterally forcing us to give up nuclear weapons," North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said in a statement, Wednesday.
Pyongyang also stepped up its criticism of Washington for attempting to sign a series of "forceful and unilateral" deals in return for the regime's denuclearization.
"The U.S. is making a fuss that it will provide economic compensation and benefits in exchange for our complete denuclearization," the statement said. "But we have never developed our economy with expectations (for financial help) from the U.S. and things will be same in the future."
The White House has yet to make public its official stance over the statement. According to local media, officials from the White House National Security Council and U.S. Department of Defense held an emergency meeting right after the regime hinted at the possible cancellation of the upcoming summit.
The announcement came hours after North Korea canceled a planned high-level dialogue with the South, citing the ongoing Max Thunder bilateral training exercise between Seoul and Washington, the regime's state-controlled media said Wednesday.
The two Koreas were scheduled to hold the talk on Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures for a series of peace agreements signed during last month's inter-Korean summit.
But on early Wednesday morning, the regime said it would not engage in the dialogue, as the Seoul-Washington military exercise goes against the peace momentum on the Korean Peninsula.
"The Max Thunder exercise is a deliberate military provocation against the North, posing a blatant challenge to the Panmunjeom Declaration," the North's Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"We have no choice but to suspend the scheduled inter-Korean high-level talk at a grave time when South Korea carries out reckless anti-Pyongyang war games."
The South's Ministry of National Defense said Seoul and Washington would continue to conduct the joint air drill, as it is neither strategic nor attack training. The ministry said in a statement the drill is aimed at boosting performance of pilots.
The decision came after Defense Minister Song Young-moo and United States Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Vincent Brooks held a makeshift meeting in response to the regime's provocative rhetoric.
The North's sensitive reaction was unexpected, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has in recent months given peace signals by saying he "understands" Seoul and Washington carrying out annual military drills.
Jets deployed for this year's Max Thunder exercise include F-22 Raptor stealth jet, F-15K and F-16. But B-52 strategic bomber has yet to join the drill. As the jet-powered bomber can carry nuclear weapons, North Korea has shown hypersensitive reactions every time the U.S. forces deploy the bomber on the Korean Peninsula.
Cheong Wa Dae said it will work closely with relevant ministries to come up with countermeasures.
"At the moment, we do not have any plans to change the scale and schedule for the Max Thunder drill," an official from the presidential office told reporters.
When asked whether President Moon Jae-in is considering calling Kim Jong-un via a hotline, the official said the scenario has not been discussed yet.
South Korea's unification ministry expressed regret over the North's abrupt cancellation of the dialogue.
"The (South Korean) government has strong willingness to carry out the Panmunjeom Declaration," the ministry said in a statement.
"To discuss issues the North takes issue with, the inter-Korean dialogue should continue."
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea threatened to cancel the planned summit between its leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, Wednesday, saying Washington is "unilaterally" demanding the regime relinquish its nuclear weapons.
"We will have to reconsider whether to respond to the upcoming Pyongyang-Washington summit if the U.S. drives us into a corner by unilaterally forcing us to give up nuclear weapons," North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan said in a statement, Wednesday.
Pyongyang also stepped up its criticism of Washington for attempting to sign a series of "forceful and unilateral" deals in return for the regime's denuclearization.
"The U.S. is making a fuss that it will provide economic compensation and benefits in exchange for our complete denuclearization," the statement said. "But we have never developed our economy with expectations (for financial help) from the U.S. and things will be same in the future."
The White House has yet to make public its official stance over the statement. According to local media, officials from the White House National Security Council and U.S. Department of Defense held an emergency meeting right after the regime hinted at the possible cancellation of the upcoming summit.
The announcement came hours after North Korea canceled a planned high-level dialogue with the South, citing the ongoing Max Thunder bilateral training exercise between Seoul and Washington, the regime's state-controlled media said Wednesday.
The two Koreas were scheduled to hold the talk on Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures for a series of peace agreements signed during last month's inter-Korean summit.
But on early Wednesday morning, the regime said it would not engage in the dialogue, as the Seoul-Washington military exercise goes against the peace momentum on the Korean Peninsula.
"The Max Thunder exercise is a deliberate military provocation against the North, posing a blatant challenge to the Panmunjeom Declaration," the North's Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
"We have no choice but to suspend the scheduled inter-Korean high-level talk at a grave time when South Korea carries out reckless anti-Pyongyang war games."
The South's Ministry of National Defense said Seoul and Washington would continue to conduct the joint air drill, as it is neither strategic nor attack training. The ministry said in a statement the drill is aimed at boosting performance of pilots.
The decision came after Defense Minister Song Young-moo and United States Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Vincent Brooks held a makeshift meeting in response to the regime's provocative rhetoric.
The North's sensitive reaction was unexpected, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has in recent months given peace signals by saying he "understands" Seoul and Washington carrying out annual military drills.
Jets deployed for this year's Max Thunder exercise include F-22 Raptor stealth jet, F-15K and F-16. But B-52 strategic bomber has yet to join the drill. As the jet-powered bomber can carry nuclear weapons, North Korea has shown hypersensitive reactions every time the U.S. forces deploy the bomber on the Korean Peninsula.
Cheong Wa Dae said it will work closely with relevant ministries to come up with countermeasures.
"At the moment, we do not have any plans to change the scale and schedule for the Max Thunder drill," an official from the presidential office told reporters.
When asked whether President Moon Jae-in is considering calling Kim Jong-un via a hotline, the official said the scenario has not been discussed yet.
South Korea's unification ministry expressed regret over the North's abrupt cancellation of the dialogue.
"The (South Korean) government has strong willingness to carry out the Panmunjeom Declaration," the ministry said in a statement.
"To discuss issues the North takes issue with, the inter-Korean dialogue should continue."
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