North Korea's U.N. envoy says denuclearization off negotiating table with United States
Michelle Nichols
December 7, 2019 / 10:26 AM / Updated an hour agoUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations said on Saturday that denuclearization is off the negotiating table with the U.S. and lengthy talks with Washington are not needed, the starkest statement yet emphasizing the gulf between the two sides ahead of a year-end deadline.
Ambassador Kim Song’s comment appeared to go further than North Korea’s earlier warning that discussions related to its nuclear weapons program, the central focus of U.S. engagement with North Korea in the past two years, might have to be taken off the table given Washington’s refusal to offer concessions.
Kim said in a statement the “sustained and substantial dialogue†sought by the United States was a “time-saving trick†to suit its domestic political agenda, a reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 reelection bid.
“We do not need to have lengthy talks with the U.S. now and denuclearization is already gone out of the negotiating table,†he said in the statement made available to Reuters.
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https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa/north-koreas-u-n-envoy-says-denuclearization-off-negotiating-table-with-united-states-idUSKBN1YB0FG
