North Korea says up to US to chose what ‘Christmas gift’ it wants
A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (C) during a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a Township of Samjiyon County, North Korea, Dec.2, 2019. EFE-EPA/KCNA EDITORIAL USE ONLY
Seoul, December 3 (EFE-EPA): North Korea on Tuesday said it was up to the United States to chose what “Christmas gift” it wanted as the deadline to resume the stalled denuclearisation talks was drawing closer amid Washington’s continued “dialogue rhetoric”.
“What is left to be done now is the US' option and it is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it will select to get," the North Korean foreign ministry said in a statement published by state news agency KCNA.
The statement quoted Vice Foreign Minister Ri Kil Song saying that Pyongyang had "done its utmost with maximum perseverance not to backtrack from the important steps."
This refers to North Korea's self-imposed moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons and medium and intercontinental ballistic missiles.
"Drawing nearer is the year-end time limit the DPRK (North Korea's official name) set for the US. However, the US is keen on earning time needed for it, talking about the 'sustained and substantial dialogue,' far from acting in response to the measures taken by the DPRK first," Ri said.
The statement said North Korea had “heard more than enough dialogue rhetoric raised by the US whenever it is driven into a tight corner. So, no one will lend an ear to the US any longer.”
It said the talks touted by Washington was, “in essence, nothing but a foolish trick hatched to keep the DPRK bound to dialogue and use it in favor of the political situation and election in the US”.
Experts believe that if there is no progress in talks in the next few weeks, the North Korean regime could carry out new weapons tests from January, especially of intermediate-range missiles.
Bilateral negotiations have not advanced since a failed summit in February in Hanoi, where Washington refused to lift economic sanctions in return for what Pyongyang dismantling its nuclear assets.
Both parties held a working meeting in early October in Stockholm, Sweden, which ended with North Korea accusing Washington of failing to offer anything new and actively maintaining its "hostile policy".
North Korean media on Tuesday also showed leader Kim Jong-un inaugurating a real estate project near Mount Paektu, a sacred site for the regime.
Given that important decisions have often followed visits to this area, some experts believe that Pyongyang wants to ramp up the pressure with this gesture.
Last week, North Korea fired two missiles into the Sea of Japan (also known as East Sea in the two Koreas) from a super large multiple-launch rocket system, prompting Pentagon to deploy reconnaissance aircrafts over the Korean peninsula.
On Tuesday, the US aircraft flew over the region for the fifth time in less than a week in a gesture that some believe may be a deliberate warning message against threats from the North Korean regime.
