Rodong slams US on first day of Pyongyang summit

Residents wave Korean unification flags and North Korean flags at Pyongyang Sunan International Airport. Joint Press Corps

By Jung Da-min

On the first day of three-day inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun slammed the U.S. for not implementing promises made in the June 13 North Korea-U.S. joint statement.

The day before on Monday during a U.N. Security Council meeting called by the U.S., American Ambassador Nikki Haley accused Russia of pressuring U.N. experts to alter a report on implementing sanctions against North Korea.

In an editorial titled "Who hampers the progress of talks" Rodong said the U.S. unilateral request for North Korea's denuclearization without declaring the end of war was the main cause of the stalled negotiations between the countries.

"Responsibility for the DPRK-U.S. negotiations not progressing lies entirely with the United States," it said. "In particular, it is because the United States is not showing willingness to build trust by implementing what it has promised, including the declaration of the end of the war, but only insisting 'abandonment of nuclear as the priority,' saying other issues can be discussed after we implement 'Complete, Verifiable, Irreversible Dismantlement.'"

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, left, and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands at the conclusion of their meetings at the Capella resort on Sentosa Island in Singapore, June 12. AP-Yonhap

The newspaper also said North Korea was committed to implement additional "goodwill" measures if the U.S. took steps to build trust.

It said the U.S. had not done much while North Korea had been doing many things including halting rocket tests and nuclear tests as well as abolishing the Pyonggye-ri nuclear site and releasing U.S. citizens detained for committing what North Korea called "anti-republic hostile activities."

It added that North Korea had also repatriated the remains of U.S. soldiers to keep faith with the Trump administration, noting that U.S. President Trump had expressed gratitude to the North Korean government.

While the editorial appeared only in the Korean edition, the English edition on the same day carried an editorial titled "No Obstacle Insurmountable When All Koreans Pool Efforts," where it said the two Koreas should work together to implement the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration, "irrespective of their differing ideologies."

(责任编辑：新闻中心)