US President Donald Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un shake hands after signing documents during the US-North Korea summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore on June 12. FILE IMAGE: REUTERS
North Korea condemns US over not lifting the sanctions against the country.
In a statement, published on August 9th, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said it had made various gestures of goodwill and despite them the US is still following an “outdated acting script”, not stopping its demands for denuclearization before the lifting of the sanctions.
Pyongyang said that it had taken “such practical denuclearization steps as discontinuing nuclear test and ICBM test fire” and “broadminded measures” such as the repatriation of US Korean War remains, however “the US responded to our expectation by inciting international sanctions and pressure against (North Korea).”
The statement, as cited by CNN, did not blame Trump, it singled out some “some high-level officials within the US administration,” who said were going against the President’s will.
“Now the issue in question is that, going against the intention of president Trump to advance the DPRK-U.S. relations, who is expressing gratitude to our goodwill measures for implementing the DPRK-U.S. joint statement, some high-level officials within the U.S. administration are making baseless allegations against us and making desperate attempts at intensifying the international sanctions and pressure,” the statement read.
It further spoke that expecting positive results, while insulting North Korea and “throwing cold water over [North Korea’s] sincere efforts to building confidence”, efforts that can be viewed as implementing the DPRK-US joint statement, is a foolish act.
However, the statement also included Pyongyang intention to hold up its part of the agreement. “We remain unchanged in our will to uphold the intentions of the top leaders of the DPRK and the U.S. and to build trust and implement in good faith the DPRK-U.S. joint statement step by step. The U.S. should, even at this belated time, respond to our sincere efforts in a corresponding manner,” it said.
North Korea insisted that the US reciprocates its goodwill gestures. US responded with Trump cancelling the Freedom Guardian military drill that was due to happen in August with South Korea. However, he dismissed calls to ease the sanctions until the commitment to denuclearization is entirely fulfilled.
However, US National Security adviser John Bolton on August 7th, said that North Korea had not begun to progress, while US envoy to the UN, Nikki Haley, said Washington was “not willing to wait for too long” for the North. On August 4th, Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo said that it was important to maintain “diplomatic and economic pressure” on North Korea.
BBC, cited Seoul’s customs office, which said that the sanctions on North Korea were allegedly breached. The latest North Korean coal and iron imports had first been shipped to Russia to hide their origin. Supposedly, three companies were hoping to make a large profit, as the price of North Korean products fell after the introduction of the UN sanctions. The UN has previously responded to ships violating the sanctions by imposing a ban from visiting any global port.
The sanctions against North Korea have been imposed since the country’s first nuclear weapons test in 2006. The UN has released a number of resolutions banning exports and imports of various goods, limiting the entry of crude oil, etc.
The US also imposed its own set of sanctions, which are to be lifted after the complete denuclearization of North Korea. This was agreed during the Trump-Kim summit on June 12th, 2018.
Furthermore, August 13th is to hold a meeting between South and North Korea. Both Koreas have expressed their wishes to end the Korean war. North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun early on August 9th said that ending the Korean War is “the first process for ensuring peace and security not only in the Korean peninsula but also in the region and the world.”
