North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly.
The difference in tone was clear, compared to last year when he blamed Washington for
Pyeongyang's nuclear development.
This year, the top diplomat stressed that the two countries must build trust in order
for the recent denuclearization and peace efforts to be successful.
Oh Jung-hee shares with us his remarks.
'Trust' was the key word for North Korea at this year's UN General Assembly.
"North Korea's commitment to thoroughly implement the North Korea-U.S. joint statement is unwavering.
The primary task for effectively implementing the statement is bringing down the barrier
of decades-long mistrust between the two countries."
Pyeongyang's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho highlighted that North Korea has taken several goodwill
measures to build trust with the U.S. -- like halting nuclear and missile tests... and dismantling
its nuclear test site -- but has not been able to see anything in return.
He said...
Washington is rather upping the pressure through sanctions, which only deepens bilateral mistrust.
While North Korea has a firm will to denuclearize,... Ri said... that can only happen when Pyeongyang
can trust Washington.
In other words, North Korea won't unilaterally denuclearize without an assurance on its regime
security.
Though the message presses Washington to take action, it differs greatly from Ri Yong-ho's
own speech at the same venue last year,... where he threatened real strikes against the
U.S.
There, he sought to justify North Korea's nuclear development, citing the U.S. threat
shown through military drills with South Korea and President Trump's aggressive rhetoric
like "fire and fury."
Ri also lashed out at Trump,... calling him a "mentally deranged person."
This year, there was no mention of Trump.
Ri instead chose to criticize hardliners in the U.S. for hindering negotiations,... which
is seen as a move to keep the friendly atmosphere between the two leaders going.
All in all, Ri's speech showed Pyeongyang wants to continue its dialogue with the U.S.
But at the same time, it hinted...
North Korea could pass the blame onto Washington if negotiations end in failure.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
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