North Korea suddenly holds press conference, rejects US statement
At a surprise press conference in the middle of the night, North Korea explained why the summit failed to reach an agreement. Accordingly, North Korea proposed dismantling its nuclear facilities in exchange for the lifting of five of the 11 sanctions, but the US did not accept.
The North Korean press conference was held unexpectedly at around 11:30 p.m. on February 28 and began at around midnight on March 1 at the Melia Hotel in Hanoi. The press conference was attended by Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and Vice Foreign Minister Cho Son-hui.
Foreign Minister Ri said Pyongyang had made a "practical proposal" at the second summit with the US. North Korea was only seeking partial sanctions relief, not full relief. "North Korea is under 11 sanctions and has asked the US to lift only five," Ri said. This contradicted US President Donald Trump's earlier assertion that North Korea wanted all sanctions lifted.
North Korea has proposed that if the US lifts some of the sanctions that have affected its economy and people's lives, Pyongyang will completely and permanently dismantle its nuclear production facilities, including plutonium and uranium, and allow US experts in for inspection.
"During the meeting, the US asked us to take one more step besides dismantling the Yongbyon nuclear complex. This clearly shows that the US does not accept our proposal," Mr. Ri said.
North Korea said there was no better deal than the one it offered as the first steps toward denuclearization, and expressed regret at missing a "hard-won opportunity." However, North Korea said it would not change its proposal if the US proposed talks again in the future.
After announcing the conference's progress, the North Korean Foreign Minister left without answering any questions from reporters.
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| North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho at a press conference. Photo: Giang Huy. |
Located about 100 km north of Pyongyang, the Yongbyon complex is symbolically the “crown jewel” of North Korea’s nuclear program. Built in 1979, the complex produced plutonium and other materials needed for North Korea’s first atomic bomb test in 2006.
The US-North Korea summit ended at noon on February 28 without any agreement being signed due to disagreements on sanctions. After leaving the summit early, the US President returned to the hotel and went straight to the press conference room. He said that Chairman Kim Jong-un wanted sanctions against North Korea to be lifted but the US was not ready to do so.
President Trump said that both sides felt that now was not the time to sign any agreement, but stressed that his relationship with Chairman Kim Jong-un remained very good. Discussions with Chairman Kim Jong-un "took place in a friendly atmosphere and no one left angry."
Joseph Yun, a former US diplomat on North Korea, said the second summit in Hanoi ended abruptly because of "lack of preparation." This expert also said that the Trump administration had made too many concessions and lowered the conditions with North Korea, but "they couldn't even pass those conditions."
According to Professor Victor Cha, chair of the North Korea program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), noted that President Trump "made the right decision to push for bigger results instead of small steps and not accept deals when they are not good".
