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WORLD NEWS Monday 7 october 2019
North Korea: No more talks until U.S. ends 'hostile policy'

By HYUNG-JIN KIM When it entered talks with diplomatic relations with
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — the U.S. last year, North North Korea, Sweden has
North Korea said Sunday Korea said it was willing to often acted as a bridge
that it won't meet with the deal away its advancing between Washington and
United States for more "sick- nuclear arsenal in return for Pyongyang.
ening negotiations" unless it outside political and eco- Kim Myong Gil, the North
abandons its "hostile policy" nomic benefits. But many Korean negotiator, said the
against the North, as the foreign experts doubt North proposed a suspen-
two countries offered differ- whether North Korea would sion of talks until Decem-
ent takes on their weekend completely abandon a ber. He said North Korea
nuclear talks in Sweden. nuclear program that it also made it clear that the
After their first talks in more has built after decades of two countries can discuss
than seven months in struggle. the North's next denucle-
Stockholm on Saturday, the Before the Singapore talks, arization steps if the United
chief North Korean nuclear North Korea had long said States "sincerely responds" North Korean negotiator Kim Miyong Gil reads statement outside
negotiator said the discus- it would denuclearize only if to previous measures taken the North Korean Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, Saturday,
sions broke down "entirely the U.S. withdraws its 28,500 by Pyongyang, including Oct. 5, 2019.
because the U.S. has not troops from South Korea, the suspension of nuclear Associated Press
discarded its old stance ends military drills with the and long-range missile tests
and attitude" and came to South and takes other steps and the closing of its under- the end of this year. Kim "The fate of the future
the negotiating table with to guarantee the North's ground nuclear testing site. Myong Gil said whether (North Korea)-U.S. dialogue
an "empty hand." But the security. North Korea has demand- North Korea will lift its self- depends on the U.S. at-
U.S. said the two sides had Saturday's talks were the ed the United States come imposed moratorium on titude, and the end of this
"good discussions" that it in- first between the sides up with mutually accept- nuclear and long-range year is its deadline," the
tends to build on with more since the second Trump- able proposals to salvage missile tests is completely North Korean Foreign Minis-
talks in two weeks. Kim summit in Vietnam in the nuclear diplomacy by up to the United States. try statement said.q
On Sunday night, North February collapsed due to
Korea's Foreign Ministry is- squabbling over how much
sued a statement accusing sanctions relief should be
the U.S. of trying to mislead given to North Korea in re-
the public and "spreading turn for dismantling its main
a completely ungrounded nuclear complex. The two
story that both sides are leaders held a brief, im-
open to meet" again. promptu meeting at the
The statement said the Korean border in late June
Stockholm talks "made us and agreed to restart di-
think they have no politi- plomacy.
cal will to improve (North State Department spokes-
Korea)-U.S. relations and woman Morgan Ortagus
may be abusing the bilat- said the chief North Kore-
eral relations for their own an negotiator's comments
partisan interests" at home. about Saturday's talks did
It said North Korea isn't will- "not reflect the content or
ing to hold "such sicken- the spirit" of the "good dis-
ing negotiations" as those cussions" that took place
in Stockholm until the U.S. over 8 ½ hours. She said
takes "a substantial step to the U.S. delegation "pre-
make complete and irre- viewed a number of new
versible withdrawal of the initiatives that would al-
hostile policy toward" the low us to make progress in
North. each of the four pillars" of a
The statement didn't say joint statement issued after
which U.S. policies it was re- Trump and Kim's first summit
ferring to. But North Korea in Singapore in June 2018.
has previously accused the Ortagus also said the U.S.
United States of plotting an accepted an invitation
invasion of the country and from Sweden to return to
maintained that U.S.-led Stockholm in two weeks to
sanctions against the North continue talks. Because the
are stifling its economy. U.S. does not have official
Kim Myong Gil, the main
North Korean negotiator
at the Stockholm talks, said
that since the first summit
between President Donald
Trump and North Korean
leader Kim Jong Un in Sin-
gapore in June 2018, the
U.S. has been threatening
his country with fresh unilat-
eral sanctions and military
exercises with South Korea.