KCNA piece says US needs to take first step in breaking deadlock in negotiations

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump shake hands after signing their joint statement during the first North Korea-US summit in Singapore on June 12.

Article not attributed to N. Korea Foreign Ministry or any other public institution

North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published a commentary on Dec. 13 declaring negotiations with the US are “now at a deadlock” and stating that the “exit will be for the US to build up stairs with measures corresponding to the steps we have taken and walk up the stairs.”

The position was shared in a commentary titled “Time Will Show the US’ Foolishness” published that evening and credited to an individual identified as “Jong Hyon.”

The commentary essentially argued that the US will need to take the first step amid the current signs of an impasse in the two sides’ talks. But the fact that it was not credited to the North Korean Foreign Ministry or other public institution – and that the author’s affiliation was not even mentioned – was taken as signaling that the message was part of Pyongyang’s ongoing blinking contest rather than a statement of official policy.

“How can the train of negotiation move when only the DPRK moves and the US stands still?” the KCNA piece asked.

“The U.S. is to blame [for the deadlock]. There is no doubt about it,” it also said.

“We are now waiting patiently for the US to arrive at the point where we have unilaterally arrived first, namely the time when the US escapes the maze of scattered thinking and comes to its senses,” the piece said.

“Just like it is impossible to start a fire in water, improvement in the DPRK-U.S. relations cannot go in tandem with sanctions and pressure,” it continued.

“Time will show the foolishness of the US,” it concluded, in a message indirectly conveying the North’s commitment to negotiations while pressing the US for corresponding measures including a more flexible stance on sanctions.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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