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Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 19:10
DPRK abandons nuclear freeze pledge, blames US sanctions
By Reuters
Wednesday, January 22, 2020, 19:10 By Reuters

This undated picture released from official Korean Central News Agency of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on Nov 29, 2019 shows the test-fire of a super-large multiple launch rocket system. (PHOTO / AFP)

GENEVA - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said on Tuesday it was no longer bound by commitments to halt nuclear and missile testing, blaming the United States' failure to meet a year-end deadline for nuclear talks and "brutal and inhumane" US sanctions.

DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un set an end-December deadline for denuclearization talks with the United States and White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien said at the time the United States had opened channels of communication.

O'Brien said then he hoped Kim would follow through on denuclearization commitments he made at summits with US President Donald Trump.

ALSO READ: Report: DPRK foreign minister replaced

Ju Yong Chol, a counsellor at DPRK's mission to the UN in Geneva, said that over the past two years, his country had halted nuclear tests and test firing of inter-continental ballistic missiles "in order to build confidence with the United States".

US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood voiced concern at Pyongyang's remarks and said Washington hoped the DPRK would return to the negotiating table

But the United States had responded by conducting dozens of joint military exercises with the Republic of Korea (ROK) on the divided peninsula and by imposing sanctions, he said.

"As it became clear now that the US remains unchanged in its ambition to block the development of the DPRK and stifle its political system, we found no reason to be unilaterally bound any longer by the commitment that the other party fails to honour," Ju told the UN-backed Conference on Disarmament.

Speaking as the envoy from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Ju accused the United States of applying "the most brutal and inhumane sanctions".

"If the US persists in such hostile policy towards the DPRK there will never be the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," he said.

"If the United States tries to enforce unilateral demands and persists in imposing sanctions, North Korea may be compelled to seek a new path."

US military commanders said any new path could include the testing of a long-range missile, which the DPRK has suspended since 2017, along with nuclear warhead tests.

US: 'DO THE RIGHT THING'

US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood voiced concern at Pyongyang's remarks and said Washington hoped the DPRK would return to the negotiating table.

"What we hope is that they will do the right thing and come back to the table and try to work out an arrangement where by we can fulfil that pledge that was made by President Trump and Chairman Kim to denuclearise," he said.

ROK Ambassador Jang-keun Lee said there must be substantial progress in denuclearization to "maintain and build upon the hard-won momentum for dialogue".

"Therefore, early resumption of negotiations between the United States and the DPRK is critical," he said.

Anne Kemppainen, head of the European Union's disarmament section, also called on the DPRK to stick to the talks.

READ MORE: ROK leader: China's role in denuclearization 'significant'

Pyongyang, slapped with multiple Security Council resolutions and sanctions, has rejected unilateral disarmament and given no indication that it is willing to go beyond statements of broad support for the concept of universal denuclearization.

The DPRK has said in previous, failed talks that it could consider giving up its arsenal if the United States provided security guarantees by removing its troops from the ROK and withdrew its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from the ROK and Japan.

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