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| The press conference of DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in Hanoi on February 28 night (Photo: VNA) |
Ri said during the two-day summit, the two countries’ leaders had held serious
discussions.
The DPRK foreign minister said the DPRK had offered “realistic proposals” but
the US wanted more, and the two sides couldn’t reconcile their differences
leading to what the US President called a “walk away” earlier in his press
conference in Hanoi.
According to Ri, DPRK had attempted to get the US to lift five sanction articles
adopted in 2016 and 2017 under 11 United Nations Security Council resolutions,
which he said “hampered the civilian economy and the livelihoods of our people”
in exchange for DPRK’s “completely and permanent dismantling all nuclear
material production facilities in the Yongbyon area, including plutonium and
uranium” under the supervision of experts from both countries.
He emphasised that the DPRK did not seek a complete removal of all sanctions,
but only partial relief.
The diplomat said it was the biggest measure it could take at present given “the
current level of confidence between the DPRK and the US.”
During the meeting, the DPRK pledged a complete halt of nuclear and missile
testing, including rocket launches, to ease the concerns of the US, according to
Ri.
Ri said that if the two sides could go through this “level of trust-building
regime”, then “we would be able to accelerate the process of denuclearisation”.
However, he said the US side was insistent on DPRK moving “one more step”
besides the shutting down of the Yongbyon plant, the country’s main nuclear
facility.
“It became crystal clear that the US was not ready to go through with this
proposal,” the DPRK top diplomat said.
The DPRK official said it would be difficult to come up with a better proposal
than the one his country was putting on the table.
“Our principle stands and remains invariable and our proposal will never change
in the future even if the US wants further talks,” he said.-VNA
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