유엔서 미국 핵위협 탓하던 북한... 올해는 '신뢰형성' 강조
North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho presented a much toned-down speech this year at the UN General Assembly compared to his speech last year when he blamed the U.S. for Pyeongyang's nuclear development.
This year, he stressed that the two countries need to build trust in order for the recent denuclearization and peace efforts to be successful.
Oh Jung-hee tells us more.
'Trust' was the key word for North Korea at this year's UN General Assembly.
"North Korea's commitment to thoroughly implement the North Korea-U.S. joint statement is unwavering. The primary task for effectively implementing the statement is bringing down the barrier of decades-long mistrust between the two countries."
Pyeongyang's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho highlighted that North Korea has taken several goodwill measures to build trust with the U.S. -- like halting nuclear and missile tests... and dismantling its nuclear test site -- but has not been able to see anything in return.
He said... Washington is rather upping the pressure through sanctions, which only deepens bilateral mistrust.
While North Korea has a firm will to denuclearize,... Ri said... that can only happen when Pyeongyang can trust Washington.
In other words, North Korea won't unilaterally denuclearize without an assurance on its regime security.
Though the message presses Washington to take action, it differs greatly from Ri Yong-ho's own speech at the same venue last year,... where he threatened real strikes against the U.S.
There, he sought to justify North Korea's nuclear development, citing the U.S. threat shown through military drills with South Korea and President Trump's aggressive rhetoric like "fire and fury."
Ri also lashed out at Trump,... calling him a "mentally deranged person."
This year, there was no mention of Trump.
Ri instead chose to criticize hardliners in the U.S. for hindering negotiations,... which is seen as a move to keep the friendly atmosphere between the two leaders going.
Ri's speech showed Pyeongyang wants to continue its dialogue with the U.S.
But at the same time, it hinted... North Korea could pass the blame onto Washington if negotiations end in failure.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
