Pyongyang, North Korea said on Thursday that the future of the summit with the US is “entirely dependent” upon Washington, after both countries threatened to cancel or delay the historic encounter scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.
“Whether the US will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behaviour of the United States,” said Choe Son-hui, a North Korean Vice Foreign Minister.
Choe’s statement comes at a time of uncertainty about whether the meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will eventually take place.
Pyongyang last week threatened to pull out of the summit due to the White House’s pressure to impose a “unilateral” denuclearization model, while Trump spoke Tuesday of a possible postponement.
In the statement released on Thursday, Choe added that “in case the US offends against our goodwill and clings to unlawful and outrageous acts, I will put forward a suggestion to our supreme leadership for reconsidering the DPRK-US summit.”
Choe also mentioned the words of US Vice President Mike Pence in a recent television interview in which he again pointed to a Libya-style approach for North Korea’s denuclearization.
“US Vice-President Pence has made unbridled and impudent remarks that North Korea might end like Libya. (…) I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US vice-president,” the North Korean Vice Foreign Minister said.
Pyongyang last week suspended its contacts with Seoul and altered the cordial tone used in recent months with South Korea and the US.
Trump admitted on May 22 that the summit with Kim could be delayed and insisted that Pyongyang must meet certain conditions for the historic meeting to go ahead.
