통일부 "北, 기존 협상기조 유지... 미국 셈법 변화 압박"
North Korea remains unchanged in its stance in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. and is rather pressing Washington to change its calculations on the denuclearization issue.
This, according to Seoul's unification ministry which analyzes that Pyeongyang is recently presenting this position in the form of Q-and-As with reporters.
Oh Jung-hee reports.
Recent North Korean media reports show that Pyeongyang has not moved an inch from its original stance in the denuclearization talks... and is rather pressing the U.S. to change.
That's an assessment from South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday.
Several times in the past couple of months, North Korea has sent out messages through interview-format articles on its state media... instead of making official statements or announcements.
Such messages often come in the form of a spokesperson's answer to a question from a reporter from the Korean Central News Agency.
The most recent case was last week.
Answering a KCNA reporter, Pyeongyang's foreign ministry spokesperson said... North Korea-U.S. dialogue won't resume unless the U.S. takes a different approach.
An anonymous official at Seoul's unification ministry told reporters Tuesday... that the North uses that format when it wants to emphasize its stance or remind another party of it.
He explained... that Pyeongyang claims to be firm on its negotiation strategy... and is pushing the U.S. to change its calculations,... a situation the official said is "not so desirable."
According to the official, Seoul is keeping an eye on a few specific terms in these North Korean reports terms like "self-reliance" and "the state-first principle"'... or words like "simultaneous development," which could mean nuclear weapons and imply a return to the past.
The unification ministry says North Korea has grown its online presence now to more than 50 websites and social media accounts.
They are meant to represent official government bodies and the media... or to attract foreign investment.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.
