"We have already made it clear that if the U.S. again fingers at the old scenario which has nothing to do with new calculation method, the dealings between the DPRK [North Korea] and the U.S. may immediately come to an end. As we have clearly identified the way for solving the problem, the fate of the future DPRK-U.S. dialogue depends on the U.S. attitude, and the end of this year is its deadline", the statement published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The United States has refuted North Korea’s claims that the Saturday denuclearization talks were not a success, with the US State Department pointing to some new initiatives that could help make progress in the negotiations.
"The U.S. is misleading the public opinion, insisting ... they had a wonderful discussion with the DPRK side ... The recent negotiations have left us sceptical about the U.S. political will to improve the DPRK-U.S. relations and made us think if it isn't its real intention to abuse the bilateral relations for gratifying its party interests", the North Korean Foreign Ministry said.
The statement comes a day after the North Korean delegation headed by chief negotiator Kim Myong Gil held working-level denuclearisation talks with the US delegation headed by Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun. These were the first talks since the high-level summit in Hanoi in February.
However, without waiting for the negotiations to end, North Korean diplomats left the meeting's venue, after which Kim said the working negotiations with the United States had failed. According to the diplomat, as quoted by the Yonhap News Agency, the United States came empty-handed.
The negotiations were supposed to focus on making progress in the implementation of the agreement reached during the first US-North Korean summit in Singapore in June 2018. The agreement included a set of obligations to establish new bilateral relations, achieve peace and work toward the full denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
