North Korea declares that the end of the war can not be a currency of denuclearization: KCNA

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Tuesday that the end of the 1950-53 Korean war "could never be a bargaining chip for the denuclearization of North Korea," the country said. . States do not want an end to the war, according to KCNA state media.

In a joint statement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at their summit in Pyongyang last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed his willingness to "permanently dismantle" the Yongbyon nuclear complex if the United States acted the same way.

Moon said it would include a declaration of an official end to the war.

In a commentary, KCNA said Tuesday that the declaration of the end of the war should have "been resolved half a century ago" and described it as "the most fundamental and essential process for the implementation of the new DPRK-US "relations and peace" position on the Korean peninsula "to which the United States was also attached", referring to North Korea under its official name, Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

At their unprecedented summit in June, US President Donald Trump and Kim agreed to "build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean peninsula."

However, Washington wants North Korea to first provide a comprehensive inventory of its weapons programs and take irreversible steps to abandon its arsenal.

KCNA said that the Yongbyon nuclear facility, in which the North had expressed its willingness to disconnect if the United States took the measures that were imposed, "is essential for its nuclear program."

"The DPRK is taking substantial and crucial steps to implement the joint declaration made to the DPRK-USA. the United States is still trying to subjugate a person by resorting to sanctions, "accused the anonymous commentator.

However, three senior US officials implicated in North Korea's policy have previously told Reuters that no progress has been made toward meaningful negotiations on eliminating or even stopping nuclear and missile programs. ballistics of Kim.

The dismantling of Yongbyon would slow the production of fissile materials, but would not reduce the current stock of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, nor would it raise suspicion on other secret production sites, an expert told Reuters.