North Korea is not interested in negotiating with the US

(Baonghean.vn) - North Korea is not interested in negotiating like Iran with the United States and giving up its nuclear capabilities, the country's foreign minister said in a statement on July 21.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects a complex in Pyongyang. Photo: Reuters/KCNA.

The statement said North Korea's nuclear program was a "critical obstacle" to US foreign policy toward the country.

“It is illogical to compare our situation with the Iran nuclear deal because we have always been subjected to the US military hostility, including large-scale joint military exercises and extremely serious nuclear threat,” a foreign ministry spokesman said, according to North Korean state media.

“We have no interest in talking about unilaterally freezing or giving up nuclear weapons,” the statement added.

The United States and five world powers reached a historic deal with Iran last week that would curb Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief.

The Iran deal is a huge political victory for US President Barack Obama, who has long promised to establish dialogue with historic enemies, including North Korea.

Accordingly, in exchange for the removal of sanctions that have long constrained Iran's economy by the US, the European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN), the country must accept long-term restrictions on its nuclear program.

North Korea is also heavily sanctioned by the US, EU and UN for seeking to acquire equipment related to its ongoing nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

“We are a nuclear power and nuclear powers have their own interests,” the North Korean statement said.

Thu Giang

(According to Reuters)