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“We had hoped a ‘Trump-style solution’ would be a wise way to relieve worries from both sides, meet our demands and realistically resolve problems,” he said in a Korean language statement carried by state media, without elaborating.
North Korea has sharply criticized suggestions by senior U.S. officials - including Vice President Mike Pence - that it could share the fate of Libya if it did not swiftly surrender its nuclear arsenal. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and murdered by NATO-backed militants after halting his nascent nuclear program.
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| 'Trump-style solution'? North Korea says still open to talks after summit canceled |
Kim Kye Gwan said such criticisms had only been a “protest” against American rhetoric, and that it showed the need for talks with Washington.
“To announce the summit is canceled was a surprise for us and we couldn’t help but feel it was a deep shame,” Kim Kye Gwan said, while noting that North Korea remained open to resolving issues with Washington “at any time in any way.”
NUCLEAR SITE DECOMMISSIONED
Trump’s letter came just after North Korea announced it had completely dismantled its Punggye-ri nuclear test facility “to ensure the transparency of discontinuance of nuclear test”.
With Trump saying he is keeping the door open to diplomacy and North Korea apparently still looking to benefit from a thaw with South Korea, such steps could be constrained - or at least tempered - by a mutual desire to keep things from spiraling out of control.
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| North Korea announced it had completely dismantled its Punggye-ri nuclear test facility “to ensure the transparency of discontinuance of nuclear test”. |
But with a new exchange of super-charged rhetoric driving the United States and North Korea from the negotiating table, there is growing concern that words could be matched with action, including renewed shorter-range missile tests or stepped-up cyber attacks by Pyongyang and increased sanctions or deployment of new military assets by Washington, analysts said.
Trump, in scrapping the June 12 summit in Singapore, sounded a bellicose note, warning Kim of the United States’ greater nuclear might, reminiscent of the president’s tweet last year asserting that he had a “much bigger” nuclear button than Kim.
Speaking later, Trump said the U.S. military stood ready if Kim were to take any “foolish” action.
Asked if the summit cancellation increased the risk of war, Trump replied: “We’ll see what happens.”
