North Korea threatens to restore nuclear weapons if US maintains sanctions

"If the US continues to maintain its arrogant attitude without showing any change in stance, North Korea may add one more item to the economic development guidelines adopted in April. The word Pyongjin may reappear and the policy change may be seriously reconsidered,"Japan Timesquoted a statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry today.

Pyongjin is the policy put forward by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which is to develop both the economy and nuclear weapons in parallel.

This statement by North Korea is considered a "confusing" move for the US, before a senior North Korean official discusses with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo next week in the US.

In April, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unexpectedly announced that he was abandoning the Pyongjin policy, also known as Byungjin. He said Pyongyang had a new strategy, focusing on rebuilding the country's economy.

North Korea has repeatedly demanded that the United States ease sanctions and declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War as conditions for Pyongyang to take steps toward denuclearization. The plan includes stopping all nuclear and missile tests and dismantling its main nuclear facility and missile testing infrastructure.

In the statement, North Korea also ridiculed the US idea that "repeated talk of sanctions and pressure will lead to denuclearization".

In June in Singapore, during their first summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed to "work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," while US President Trump pledged to "provide security guarantees" to the regime.

However, there has been no progress so far. According to media reports, anonymous US intelligence officials said North Korea continues to develop its nuclear program despite its pledge to abandon it.

The statement from North Korea's Foreign Ministry today marked the first time the country has hinted at resuming weapons tests since changing its policy in April.

"We now leave it to the US to take the part of making things possible by taking goodwill measures, and what remains is for the DPRK to respond accordingly. Without the US response, the DPRK will not move even 1 mm," the statement said.