SEOUL (Dispatches) - North
Korea has accused the United States of applying double-standards in its approaches to the two Koreas’ military activities, saying Washington’s hostile policy towards Pyongyang is the exact reason behind the prolonged deadlock in denuclearization talks.
South Korea successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) for the first time, just hours after North Korea fired two ballistic missiles off its east coast on Wednesday.
Washington condemned the North Korean test as a threat to its neighbors, saying it was “in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.” However, it did not mention anything about Seoul’s test.
On Friday, the North’s official KCNA media outlet condemned the U.S. for having a “double-dealing attitude” by “keeping mum” about South Korea’s missile launch, and held Washington’s duplicity responsible for stalled nuclear talks.
It further noted that the United States had “stirred up a terrific furore” by presenting North Korea’s actions as “threats to international peace and security”.
The article also pointed out that Washington is to blame for the stand-off preventing the restart of talks aimed at dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals in return for sanctions relief.
“Even though contacts and dialogues are undertaken now, it is certain that the U.S. would raise the double-dealing yardstick by which it would call our acts for self-defense ‘threats’ to the world peace and its allies,” Kim said.
He also stressed that “the word denuclearization can never be put on the table” unless Washington drops its “hostile policy” against the North.
Denuclearization talks have been stalled since 2019, with North Korea demanding sanctions relief. Former U.S. president Donald Trump had held three meetings with the North Korean leader, and exchanged a series of letters with him, too, but bilateral diplomacy did not last long as Trump refused to remove sanctions in exchange for several steps by the North toward demilitarization.
Earlier this week, Sung Kim, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea said that Washington is open to diplomacy with Pyongyang.
Friday’s development comes as the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has also lashed out at South Korea for criticizing the North’s “routine defensive measures” while developing its own missiles.
South Korea, which has been advancing its military power including its missile capabilities, has now become the world’s seventh country to have developed SLBM technology.