North Korea: No Negotiations If US Military Drills Continue

Envoy Says North Korea Needs to Retain Deterrent Arsenal

North Korea has once again said there is no chance of them starting any negotiations on dismantling their nuclear weapons program, citing the ongoing US-South Korea military drills in the area as targeting them.

Ambassador Han Tae Song

Ambassador Han Tae Song says that negotiations simply aren’t possible so long as the US retains its continuous hostile policy, and that North Korea believes it needs to retain its weapons as a deterrent force.

US officials have suggested talks on the drills would require North Korea to dismantle the program first, and North Korea says talk of te program requires the US halting the drills. This, needless to say, is why there’ve been no deals.

China is pushing hard for negotiations, and has suggested both sides offer a simultaneous freeze as a confidence-building measure to lead to talks. This has been their position for awhile, however, and so far neither side seems willing to bite on the plan.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.