‘It’s entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it gets’, North Korea warns as talks deadline nears

Washington’s negotiating tactic is “nothing but a foolish trick hatched to keep the DPRK bound to dialogue,” designed purely to use the issue of talks in domestic election campaigns, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Thae Song said in a statement on Tuesday.

“So, no one will lend an ear to the US any longer,” the diplomat warned, speaking about the looming year-end deadline set by Pyongyang for America to change its attitude toward the negotiation process.

What is left to be done now is the US option and it is entirely up to the US what Christmas gift it will select to get.

The message came after the parties failed to agree on the details of North Korea’s denuclearization during talks in Stockholm in October. Attempts to schedule a new round of negotiations for December also failed.

Pyongyang has long blamed the US for the setbacks in the talks, even calling its policies “gangster-like.” US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denied placing any unjustified pressure on North Korea and criticized the nation for renewing weapons tests in recent months.

US special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun dismissed Pyongyang’s deadline as “an artificial” deadline the North Koreans “set upon themselves.”

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