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DPRK calls on US to drop sanctions

China Daily | Updated: 2018-08-07 09:13
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Washington accused of undermining peace progress

SEOUL - The state media of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea called on Monday for the United States to drop sanctions, saying it had demonstrated good faith by ending its nuclear weapons testing and handing over the remains of US troops killed in the Korean War (1950-53).

The DPRK and the US vowed to work to end Pyongyang's weapons programs at a landmark summit in June in Singapore, but have struggled to reach an agreement to accomplish that goal.

The DPRK state media accused Washington of "acting opposite" to its plan to improve ties, despite Pyongyang making goodwill gestures, including a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests, the dismantling of a nuclear site, and the return of the remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean War.

"There have been outrageous arguments coming out of the US State Department that it won't ease sanctions until a denuclearization is completed, and reinforcing sanctions is a way to raise its negotiating power," the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in an editorial.

"How could the sanctions, which were a stick the US administration had brandished as part of its hostile policy against us, promote the two countries' amity?"

The editorial was a fresh sign of Pyongyang's frustration over the slow-moving nuclear negotiations.

Under President Donald Trump, the US government pushed the United Nations to impose tough sanctions on the DPRK as it conducted a string of missile and nuclear tests last year.

At a security forum on Saturday, the two sides sparred over the Singapore agreement, with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calling for maintaining sanctions against Pyongyang, and his DPRK counterpart, Ri Yongho, criticizing Washington for "retreating" from ending the war during a speech.

'Takes two to tango"

The Republic of Korea on Monday called on the DPRK to further accelerate its denuclearization process while asking the United States to faithfully implement its promises to show sincerity over the DPRK's demands for reciprocal steps, according a report from the Seoul-based Yonhap news agency.

"We are asking North Korea (DPRK) to speed up its denuclearization process. And to the US, we are asking that it show sincere efforts about corresponding measures that North Korea (DPRK) is demanding," Blue House spokesman Kim Euikyeom told reporters when asked what his government thought about a possible impasse in denuclearization talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

The DPRK's news websites on Monday also urged the US to drop sanctions and build trust.

Uriminzokkiri, an official news website of the DPRK, lambasted the sanctions and pressure campaign as "anachronistic" and a hurdle for better relations, calling for efforts to officially declare an end to the Korean War.

The Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the US-led forces, including the ROK, technically still at war with the DPRK.

The US State Department has said it is committed to building a peace mechanism to replace the armistice, but only after the DPRK abandons its nuclear program.

Maeri, another DPRK media outlet, stressed the need for US action to build confidence in response to the DPRK's moves to close its weapons programs and send back the soldiers' remains.

"It takes two to tango," the website said.

Reuters

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