Undoubtedly fixated on winning the Nobel Peace Prize, President Trump and other government officials are saying the president is responsible for bringing the two Korea’s to the peace table with his policy of maximum political pressure and sanctions and this will lead to a possible denuclearization of the region.
US News is reporting that North Korea’s official news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman as warning the claims are a “dangerous attempt” to ruin a budding detente on the Korean Peninsula after Kim’s summit late last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
At the summit. Kim discussed and agreed to a number of measures that would improve North-South relations, and indicated be would be willing to discuss denuclearization, although many details of the conditions were left out.
Trump and a number of top U.S. officials have repeatedly said that Washington’s tough policy toward North Korea, along with pressure on China, have played a decisive role in turning around what had been an extremely tense situation.
However, based on the statement from North Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Kim appears to be strengthening his position going into the peace talks by claiming he is the driver of the current situation.
“The U.S. is deliberately provoking [North Korea] at the time when the situation on the Korean peninsula is moving toward peace and reconciliation thanks to the historic north-south summit and the Panmunjom Declaration,” the statement said, according to the BBC.
“This act cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hard-won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one. It would not be conducive to addressing the issue if the US miscalculates the peace-loving intention of [North Korea] as a sign of ‘weakness’ and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats against the latter.”
Trump has said he will maintain sanctions and other pressure on the North right up to the time the first-of-its-kind summit between the two leaders takes place in a few weeks.