North Korea: Peace Treaty No Bargaining Chip for Denuclearization

Local Editor

North Korea on Tuesday ruled out dismantling its nuclear arsenal in exchange for the US declaring an end to the Korean War, stressing that a peace treaty should "never be a bargaining chip."

Pyongyang has for decades demanded that the US formally declare the end of the 1950-53 conflict that was halted only with an armistice, adding that an official end to the war would ease tensions on the flashpoint peninsula.

At a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in last month, North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un offered to shut down its main Yongbyon nuclear complex if Washington takes "corresponding measures".

Kim did not elaborate on what those measure might be. However, state news agency KCNA said in a commentary that some US experts have suggested trading the end of the war for denuclearization.

It flatly described that as only the "most basic... process" to restore ties, not a point for negotiation.

"The end of war... is not just a gift from a man to another at all. Furthermore, it can never be a bargaining chip for getting the DPRK denuclearized," it said, using the North's full name.

KCNA said that Pyongyang was willing to take "such... steps as eternal dismantlement" of its nuclear complex "if the US takes a corresponding measure" but again did not elaborate.

A landmark summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in June led to a warming of ties, but there has been little concrete progress toward denuclearization.

The North's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho also told the UN last month that there was "no way" his country would disarm first as long as the US pushes for tough enforcement of sanctions against Pyongyang.

Trump however lauded Kim, saying last week the pair had fallen "in love" -- their romance fueled by "beautiful letters" he recently received from the young leader.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team