WASHINGTON/SEOUL: North Korean state media acknowledged a fruitless summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump for the first time on Friday, saying people were blaming the United States for the lack of an agreement.
Trump however was open to more talks with North Korea aimed at North Korea’s denuclearisation, his national security adviser said, despite reports it is reactivating parts of its missile program.
“The public at home and abroad that had hoped for success and good results from the second DPRK-US summit in Hanoi are feeling regretful, blaming the US for the summit that ended without an agreement,” Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, said in a commentary.
North Korea’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
The newspaper used fiery rhetoric against Japan, accusing it of being “desperate to interrupt” relations between Pyongyang and Washington and “applauding” the breakdown of the summit.
After the summit collapsed, US ally Japan focused on scepticism about the future of the nuclear diplomacy given how the two sides failed to bridge the gap.
New activity has been detected at a factory that produced North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the United States, South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo and Donga Ilbo newspapers reported, citing lawmakers briefed by the National Intelligence Service.
This week, two U.S. think-tanks and Seoul’s spy agency said North Korea was rebuilding its Sohae rocket launch site, prompting Trump to say he would be “very, very disappointed” in North Korean leader Kim Jong Un if it were true. The think tanks said on Thursday that they believed the launch site was operational again.
White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, who has argued for a tough approach to North Korea, said Trump was still open to further talks.
“The president’s obviously open to talking again. We’ll see when that might be scheduled or how it might work out,” he told Fox News, adding it was too soon to make a determination on the reports of the North Korean activity.
“We’re going to study the situation carefully. As the president said, it would be very, very disappointing if they were taking this direction.”
The Vietnam summit on Feb. 27-28 collapsed over differences about how far North Korea was willing to limit its nuclear program and the degree of US willingness to ease economic sanctions.
Trump, eager for a big foreign policy win on North Korea, which has eluded his predecessors for decades, has repeatedly stressed his good relationship with Kim. He went as far late last year as saying they “fell in love,” but the bonhomie has failed to bridge the wide gap between the two sides.
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