North Korea Says "No Willingness to Dialogue"... US Urges Talks While Maintaining "Sanctions Continue"

North Korea: "We Will Follow Our Own Path... Do Not Provok"
US Secretary Pompeo Reaffirms "Sanctions Will Continue"

On June 30 last year, Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, and Donald Trump, President of the United States, shook hands in the VIP room of the Freedom House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom.

After North Korea announced that it no longer has the willingness to engage in talks with the United States, the U.S. urged North Korea to return to the negotiating table while maintaining that sanctions against North Korea would remain unchanged. Although both sides have left a glimmer of hope for dialogue, experts believe it will not be easy to break the deadlock anytime soon.

On the 30th (local time), U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated in a phone conference with Asian media outlets that he "hopes to sit down again with the North Korean leadership" in response to a statement from North Korea's newly appointed chief negotiator for U.S. affairs. Pompeo’s phone conference took place about three and a half hours after the Foreign Ministry official’s statement was reported.

Earlier, North Korea, under the name of the "new chief negotiator for U.S. affairs at the Foreign Ministry," declared that they have "once again firmly withdrawn their willingness to engage in talks."

The title of chief negotiator for U.S. affairs was revealed for the first time by North Korean state media, suggesting that North Korea has newly established a position responsible for negotiations with the U.S. This contradicts the theme of the statement, which was that they will no longer engage in talks. By publicly disclosing the title of chief negotiator for U.S. affairs and the U.S. reiterating its willingness to talk, both sides have left a thread of possibility for dialogue.

However, the differences in positions confirmed during the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit in February last year are unlikely to be easily bridged.

The chief negotiator for U.S. affairs said, "No matter how excellent and strong the friendship between the North Korea and U.S. leaders may be, it cannot change the U.S.'s hostile policy toward North Korea." He reiterated that the precondition for talks is the U.S.'s preemptive easing of sanctions and guarantees for the regime.

While Secretary Pompeo emphasized dialogue, he clearly stated that "there will be no preemptive easing of sanctions against North Korea without progress in denuclearization." He said, "We have been working to advance negotiations," adding, "President Donald Trump has made it clear that UN Security Council sanctions will continue to be enforced until sufficient progress is made."

Meanwhile, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which has recently swept across the globe, is also acting as an ally to the U.S.'s "maximum pressure" strategy. The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 30th (local time) that North Korean ships, which had been evading UN Security Council sanctions, have been stuck in ports due to lockdown measures caused by COVID-19.

According to satellite image analysis by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British security think tank, and commercial satellite images obtained by the NYT, the number of ships docked at North Korea's Nampo and Chongjin ports has surged. The NYT described this as "a result of border lockdown measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19," adding, "What the UN sanctions could not achieve, COVID-19 is doing." It further stated, "From the perspective of sanctions against North Korea, COVID-19 is the Trump administration's most effective ally."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.