Politics
22:13, 17-May-2018
KCNA: DPRK won't hold talks with ROK unless 'issues resolved'
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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) won't sit down for talks with the Republic of Korea (ROK) unless issues that led to the suspension of a high-level meeting this week are resolved, the DPRK's state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
The KCNA cited the comments by Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the DPRK’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country claiming the ROK's government “ignorant and incompetent” and also denounced US-ROK's air combat drills
"Unless the serious situation which led to the suspension of the north-south high-level talks is settled, it will never be easy to sit face to face again with the present regime of South Korea (ROK)," the statement said.
The ROK's peace activists hold placards reading "Stop! Max Thunder," during a rally denouncing US-ROK's joint military drills, in front of the US embassy in Seoul on May 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
The ROK's peace activists hold placards reading "Stop! Max Thunder," during a rally denouncing US-ROK's joint military drills, in front of the US embassy in Seoul on May 16, 2018. /VCG Photo
The DPRK on Wednesday canceled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the US-ROK's "Max Thunder" joint military exercises, denouncing the drills as a "rude and wicked provocation".
Pyongyang also threatened to cancel the forthcoming summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump if Washington seeks to push Pyongyang into unilaterally giving up its nuclear program.
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It is a sudden return to the past by Pyongyang, after months of rapid diplomatic rapprochement on the Korean Peninsula.
China on Thursday voiced that the efforts of the DPRK toward solving the Korean Peninsula crisis should be fully recognized, encouraged, welcomed and supported by the international community.
(With input from Reuters)