File photo
North Korea indicated Friday that unless Washington is prepared to drop its hardline approach to denuclearization, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit next week to Pyongyang will be a wasted one.
"It's a foolish idea if the U.S. thinks our country would surrender by itself, like other countries who gave in to persistent American sanction pressure," commented the North's state-run propaganda website Uriminzokkiri.
The same outlet criticized Washington's new sanctions on Russian entities accused of doing illicit business with North Korea as a "miscalculation" that will prove to be ineffective.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also recently condemned sanctions against his regime as "brigandish."
Pyongyang has repeatedly called for simultaneous measures to build trust with the U.S., rejecting Washington's stance that the North should fully denuclearize before gaining sanctions relief or any other benefits such as a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War.
Pompeo's visit scheduled for next week will be his fourth trip to the North Korean capital, although he has been unable to make tangible progress since the broad denuclearization agreement between Trump and Kim reached this June.
Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry even denounced the U.S. for making "gangster-like" demands after Pompeo's last visit in early July.
This time, Washington's top envoy will be accompanied by a new special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, a vice president of U.S. automaker Ford.
Biegun was picked Thursday to fill the void left by Joseph Yun, who retired in February.
Meanwhile, Seoul's presidential office expressed optimism about Washington's diplomacy with Pyongyang, despite the apparent gap between them.
"We hope Secretary Pompeo will make big progress in denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula when he visits North Korea," spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom told reporters Friday, according to local news agency Yonhap.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is in line to head to the North next month, following two inter-Korean summits earlier this year.
North Korea's Chairman Kim Jong-un criticized global sanctions against his country Friday, dampening optimistic remarks from US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.After being asked by President Donald Trump for a Pyongyang update, Washington's top ambassador told a Cabinet meeting Thursday that he was hoping to "make a big step here before too long."But the North continues to pressure the U.S. over key sticking points that seemingly stand in the way of Pyongyang's denuclearization -- including Washington's insistence on maintaining sanctions until the regime verifiably abandons its nukes.'Palestine stands with Turkey'While inspecting the construction of a coastal resort, Kim reportedly described the situation as "a do-or-die struggle"."Such a huge and grand creation campaign as the construction of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area is an acute standoff with hostile forces trying to stifle the Korean people through brigandish sanctions and blockade," Kim was quoted as saying by North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency.Channels of currency speculation shut down: Presidential aideMeanwhile, the North's official Rodong Sinmun carried a commentary Friday saying that the U.S. should agree to declare a formal end to the 1950-1953 Korean War "to pave the ground for detente and permanent peace".The newspaper insisted that Washington "should implement phased and simultaneous measures, like the end-of-war declaration, to build mutual trust."US cannot see who its true friend is: Turkish FMHowever, the U.S. has repeatedly stated that Pyongyang must first denuclearize before they can officially enter a state of peace. At the risk of further upsetting Washington, Kim's number two Choe Ryong-hae is currently visiting Cuba, according to the country's Prensa Latina news agency.Choe's trip there comes just days after Ri Yong-ho, North Korea's foriegn minister, said he was building ties in Iran, another country the U.S. has difficult relations with.
North Korean leader Kim slams sanctions