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North Korea cancels talks with South, and hints it could do the same with US North Korea says it could reconsider Trump summit if US insists it give up nuclear weapons
(about 4 hours later)
The North Korean regime has called off high-level talks with Seoul and hinted it could also pull out of a planned summit with Donald Trump, in protest at joint exercises by the US and South Korean militaries. North Korea has abruptly cancelled high-level talks with Seoul and said it would consider pulling out of a planned summit with Donald Trump if the US insists it must give up all nuclear weapons.
Analysts said that the language used in the North Korean warning was mild by the regime’s standards, but it marks the first significant setback since Kim Jong-un began a diplomatic opening in March, and could be a sign of brinksmanship to come in the run-up to the Kim-Trump summit scheduled for Singapore on 12 June. A North Korean official said the country had no interest in a summit with US if it was based on “one-sided” demands to give up nuclear weapons, according to state media.
“There is a limit to showing good will and opportunity,” a statement from the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, said in reference to drills by the US and South Korean air forces. Citing first vice minister of foreign affairs Kim Kye Gwan, North Korea’s central news agency also said the fate of the US summit as well as bilateral relations “would be clear” if Washington speaks of a Libya-style denuclearisation for the North.
“The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military racket in league with the South Korean authorities.” The statement added Trump would remain as a “failed president” if he followed in the steps of his predecessors.
The statement said two-week air exercises, codenamed Max Thunder, which began on Friday involving about 100 warplanes from both countries, including B52 bombers, were aimed at North Korea. The statement came after North Korea cancelled a meeting with South Korean officials just two hours before it was due to start on Wednesday. A statement said North Korea had called off the talks due to joint US-South Korean military exercises, codenamed Max Thunder.
It said the manoeuvres represented a “flagrant challenge” to the joint declaration by Kim and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, at a summit at the “truce village” of Panmunjmon on the dividing line between their countries in April. The drills, which began on Friday, have involved about 100 warplanes from the US and South Korea, including eight F-22 stealth fighters and an unspecified number of B-52 bombers.
Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed source as saying that a B-52 bomber, which has yet to join the drills, may not participate, in what could be interpreted as a concession to Pyongyang.
Max Thunder is one of several annual exercises involving the US and South Korean military that are routinely condemned by the North as preparation for an invasion.
South Korea’s defence minister, Song Young-moo, was to hold an emergency meeting with Gen Vincent Brooks, the commander of US Forces Korea, to discuss the allies’ response to the North’s protest.
For North Korea, the presence of bombers in joint US-South Korea drills triggers painful memories of the 1950-53 Korean war.
According to US air force estimates, bombing raids by US B-29s caused more damage to North Korea’s urban centres during that conflict than that seen in Germany or Japan during the second world war, with the US dumping 635,000 tons of bombs on Korea compared with 503,000 tons during the entire Pacific war.
Baik Tae-hyun, a spokesman for South Korea’s unification ministry, described Pyongyang’s decision as “regrettable” and said it ran counter to the “spirit and purpose” of the Panmunjom declaration agreed by Kim and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, last month.
Baik urged the North to swiftly return to the talks but would not speculate on whether the North’s move would affect next month’s planned meeting between Kim and Trump.
KCNA said the manoeuvres represented a “flagrant challenge” to the joint declaration by Kim and Moon at a summit at the “truce village” of Panmunjom on the dividing line between their countries in April.
The two leaders agreed to completely “cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including land, air and sea, that are the source of military tension and conflict”.The two leaders agreed to completely “cease all hostile acts against each other in every domain, including land, air and sea, that are the source of military tension and conflict”.
The state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said the US had not heard directly from North Korea about any second thoughts.The state department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said the US had not heard directly from North Korea about any second thoughts.
“What we have to go on is what Kim Jong-un has said before, that he understands and appreciates the importance to the United States of having these joint exercises,” Nauert said. “We have had no formal or informal notification of anything.”“What we have to go on is what Kim Jong-un has said before, that he understands and appreciates the importance to the United States of having these joint exercises,” Nauert said. “We have had no formal or informal notification of anything.”
“We will continue to plan the meeting.”“We will continue to plan the meeting.”
In its complaint about the exercises, the Pyongyang regime described them as offensive war games targeting North Korea. A Pentagon spokesman, Col Rob Manning, issued a statement insisting they were defensive in nature. In its complaint about the exercises, the Pyongyang regime described them as offensive war games targeting North Korea. A Pentagon spokesman, Col Rob Manning, said they were defensive.
“The purpose of the training is to enhance the ROK-US Alliance’s ability to defend the ROK and enhance interoperability and readiness. While we will not discuss specifics, the defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed,”Manning said.
US and South Korean officials had previously said that North Korea would accept joint military exercises would go ahead as planned in the run-up to the Trump summit. US and South Korean officials had previously said that North Korea would accept joint military exercises in the run-up to the Trump summit.
“Kim Jong-un simply said he could understand why the joint exercises must resume in April on the same scale as before,” Chung Eui-yong, President Moon’s national security adviser, told reporters in March.
The Panmunjmon summit was supposed to have been followed by a meeting of senior officials from the two Koreas on Wednesday to discuss next steps, but has now been cancelled by Pyongyang. The Panmunjom summit was supposed to have been followed by a meeting of senior officials from the two Koreas on Wednesday to implement a declaration agreed by Moon and Kim. The agenda included issues such as a formal end to the Korean war, denuclearisation and reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 conflict.
“The North Koreans know how to make an explicit threat. By their standards, this is pretty circumspect,” said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. “It could very well be a play for additional leverage or to see how the Trump team reacts.”“The North Koreans know how to make an explicit threat. By their standards, this is pretty circumspect,” said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists. “It could very well be a play for additional leverage or to see how the Trump team reacts.”
Mintaro Oba, a former state department expert on Korea, said in a tweet: “North Korea threatening to cancel things to put pressure on Seoul or Washington is about par for the course.” Mintaro Oba, a former state department expert on Korea, said in a tweet:
Oba added: “The question is whether they’re willing to go so far as to go through with it, or whether they’re mainly trying to gain some leverage [and] test how much we want the summit.” “The question is whether they’re willing to go so far as to go through with it, or whether they’re mainly trying to gain some leverage [and] test how much we want the summit.”
Meanwhile, satellite photos suggest that the North Korean leadership is so far following through on its promise to dismantle its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.Meanwhile, satellite photos suggest that the North Korean leadership is so far following through on its promise to dismantle its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri.
Pictures published by 38 North, a website analysing Korean issues, several buildings around the mountain site have been razed in recent days.Pictures published by 38 North, a website analysing Korean issues, several buildings around the mountain site have been razed in recent days.
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