North Korea test

 人参与 | 时间：2024-09-21 22:43:53
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles while overseeing an air force exercise byUnit 1017 of the Air and Anti-Aircraft Force of the Korean People's Army,<strong></strong> Tuesday. Yonhap
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles while overseeing an air force exercise byUnit 1017 of the Air and Anti-Aircraft Force of the Korean People's Army, Tuesday. Yonhap

NK demands US remove Pompeo for 'mature dialogue'

By Lee Min-hyung

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watched the test-firing of his regime's "new tactical guided weapon," the country's state-run media reported Thursday. The launch was an apparent move to raise the pressure on Washington amid deadlocked nuclear negotiations between the two sides.

On Wednesday, Kim visited the Academy of Defense Science to oversee the testing of the new type of weapon, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). However, it did not specify what kind of a weapon it was

"(We) have perfectly verified the design indices of the weapon during the test-fire carried out in various firing modes at different targets," the KCNA said, referring to the different modes of guided flight and the variable load of the warhead of the weapon.

The military exercise is widely seen as a means to ramp up diplomatic pressureon the U.S. in the wake of the failed Hanoi summit in February.With the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim ending up in a fiasco, North Korea has shown signs of returning to its bellicose nature of the past.

The "supervision" of the test-firing also came a day after Kim conducted an inspection of an exercise by an air force unit, Tuesday.

Such recent repeated military activities can be interpreted as Kim's message to Washington that the North will continue upgrading its military readiness and act independently, regardless of whether the U.S. offers to lift sanctions.

Washington, for its part, is also maintaining its strong determination to keep up the sanctions-driven pressure on the North, even after the breakdown of the Hanoi summit complicated denuclearization negotiations between the two.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday Washington would only hold a third summit with Pyongyang if Washingtonsaw clear evidence that the North was ready to give up its nuclear weapons.

When asked what prerequisites were needed before holding another summit between Trump and Kim, Bolton said in an interview with Bloomberg News: "I think a real indication from North Korea that they've made the strategic decision to give up nuclear weapons."

He added, "The president is fully prepared to have a third summit if he can get a real deal."

The possibility of another summit between Trump and Kim started surfacing last week when both leaders exchanged their willingness to haveone.

But with both sides continuing to make their own unilateral demands, chances remain slim for any meeting in the near future.

The U.S. reaffirmed that it would never offer any partial lifting of sanctions on the North unless it took more verifiable steps for complete denuclearization.

North Korea has also expressed post-Hanoi discontent that the U.S. had declined to accept the North's demand for a phased denuclearization. Washington has urged Pyongyang to sign a one-shot "big deal" to make rapid progress in their nuclear dialogue.

On Thursday, Uriminzokkiri, a North Korean propaganda website, denounced Seoul and Washington for carrying out a joint military exercise, calling it "a rash act aimed at destroying peace and stability and creating a mood for war on the peninsula."

The exercise refers to one that took place last month when the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific, deployed planes from Hawaii to South Korea for joint exercises with the South Korean Marine Corps.

The North also went on to criticize the South for showing "any willingness" to fulfill an inter-Korean military agreement signed last year.

"The joint military exercise shows the South Korean military authority does not have any willingness to carry out the military agreement at all," the propaganda outlet said.

The two Koreas reached the Comprehensive Military Agreement during the last inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang last September. The agreement included pledges to ease military tension on the peninsula.

Meanwhile, North Korea also demanded Thursday that the U.S. replace Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with another figure who can handle nuclear dialogues in a "more careful and mature way."

"We expect an official other than Pompeo to become a counterpart for dialogue with North Korea," the KCNA quoted Kwon Jong-gun, a senior official handling U.S. affairs at the North's Foreign Ministry, as saying.

"Whenever Pompeo engages in dialogue, things get screwed up," Kwon said. "If Pompeo continues to take part in the talks, the dialogue momentum will go awry again."

But he said the relationship between Trump and Kim remains "very good."

Kwon said the two leaders maintain a great personal relationship with each other, and Kim is pleased about being on very close terms with Trump.



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