“Tough bargaining option”: why the DPRK declared a possible rejection of the dialogue with the United States

On March 15, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK Choi Son-Hee informed the journalists about the country's readiness to interrupt negotiations with the United States because of Washington’s uncompromising position. This was the first official statement of the North Korean Foreign Ministry regarding the summit of US and DPRK leaders Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un held on February 27-28.

“We have no intention to make concessions to the US demands (put forward at the summit in Hanoi) in any form, much less the desire to conduct such negotiations,” Tsoi Son Hi quotes TASS.

The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova, commented on the same day about the threat of termination of negotiations between the United States and the DPRK on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Zakharova noted that Russia is in favor of continuing the dialogue between the countries.

“Russia is committed to a politico-diplomatic solution of the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Moscow has consistently advocated the continuation of the dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington on the basis of a phased movement towards each other without any excessive expectations, ”the diplomat said during a traditional briefing to reporters.

In turn, Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Igor Morgulov at a reception at the North Korean embassy in Moscow expressed the hope that "Korean partners will not weaken efforts aimed at solving the problems existing in the subregion through negotiations."

Criticism from the North

According to Choi Son-hee, the negotiations in the capital of Vietnam ended without result due to the fact that the US position was inconsistent. She argues that President Trump first stated that Washington could take a “flexible approach” to reach an agreement. Then the American delegation demanded to include the phrase “sanctions can be lifted with the condition that they will be reintroduced if the DPRK resumes its nuclear development”.

• Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK Choi Son Hee
• Reuters
• © Luong Thai Linh / Pool

But later, according to the North Korean Foreign Ministry, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Assistant to the President for National Security John Bolton “introduced an atmosphere of hostility and mistrust, which created obstacles to constructive efforts for the talks of the DPRK and US Supreme Leaders, as a result the summit ended without any significant result ".

The joint statement never accepted that US President Donald Trump explained the demands of the DPRK to lift all sanctions from the republic. However, according to the North Korean foreign minister, representatives of Pyongyang asked and asked for something completely different.

“We insist on the partial lifting of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council in 2016, which are harmful to civilian sectors of the economy that are focused on the livelihood of our people,” said Choi Son-Hi who explained her country's position.

According to her, the United States missed the "golden opportunity" to negotiate with the DPRK in Hanoi, and Kim Jong-un was disappointed with the outcome of the summit.

As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea informs, in the near future the leader of the DPRK will himself make a statement on the results of the summit in Vietnam, in which he will also talk about further actions of the DPRK.

According to the Associated Press, Choi called the US approach to negotiations demanding one-sided and unconditional denuclearization "ganster". At the same time, she laid the main blame on Trump's assistants, noting that at the personal level, the relationship between the American president and Kim Jong-un remains “good.”

American response

As Reuters reports, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hopes to continue negotiations on denuclearization with North Korea. Also, the head of American diplomacy hopes that Kim Jong-un will remain faithful to the obligations assumed to freeze nuclear and missile tests.

“As for the suggestion made last night that Chairman Kim may consider lifting the moratorium, I can only say the following: in Hanoi, he repeatedly spoke with the President (Trump. - RT ) directly and pledged not to resume nuclear and rocket tests,” Pompeo quoted the Politico newspaper. . “Such is the promise made by Chairman Kim. We have every reason to expect him to keep it. ”

• Michael Pompeo
• Reuters
• © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / Pool

This week, US special envoy to North Korea Stephen Beagan stated that there is still room for diplomacy in US-DPRK relations. However, he rejected the policy of Pyongyang’s gradual renunciation of nuclear weapons.

“We disagree on phased denuclearization. We need a comprehensive solution, ”the American diplomat argued.

Earlier, on March 8, another representative of the State Department told reporters that the United States does not intend to adhere to the step-by-step approach “concessions in exchange for concessions” in relations with the DPRK. Russia and China have traditionally been in favor of such a course.

As Yevgeny Kim, senior research fellow at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in an interview with RT, the statement by the deputy head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry is "a signal to America to clarify whether Washington intends to follow the path of mutual concessions."

“Russia, China and North Korea declared that the process of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula is a long process that will require a phased decision of“ action in response to action, ”the expert recalled.

However, the tough US policy shows that "America is not really interested in improving the situation on the Korean Peninsula, it is beneficial for them to maintain tension there," Kim notes.

Washington needs the North Korean threat to keep the leadership of South Korea and Japan in tune and demand money for military cover from them, as well as to maintain a massive military presence in the region near the borders of Russia and China, the expert explained.

The US does not go on the principle of step-by-step concessions, because it does not allow them to receive any domestic political dividends. Inside the United States, this can even be regarded as a manifestation of Trump's weakness; in conversation with RT, another reason for the obstinacy of the United States was given by Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies at HSE Vasily Kashin.

“The US is trying to squeeze the maximum out of this situation, they are trying to take the North Koreans" to the weak. " But nothing happens, the North Koreans respond with harshness on their part, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

Mutual stiffness

According to experts, there is no talk at the moment about the lifting of the moratorium on nuclear testing by Pyongyang, since this would mean a complete refusal to negotiate with Washington. North Korea so far only offers the United States to change its position.

However, according to Vasily Kashin, "tests of ballistic missiles are possible, but not in the most aggressive form, as it was before."

In turn, Yevgeny Kim assumes that, without receiving any advantages from negotiations with the United States, the North Korean leadership will remain formally true to the moratorium on nuclear and missile tests. But the possibility of launching spacecraft for peaceful purposes, but with the help of the same ballistic missiles cannot be ruled out. So you can test rocket technology, send, if necessary, a signal to the United States, but do not overpower your neighbors too much - the rocket launched into space will not land on their territory.

In addition, Pyongyang still has the opportunity, without conducting tests, to continue building up its nuclear arsenal.

“North Korea will not test weapons, but will produce them even more,” says Yevgeny Kim.

According to Vasily Kashin, the DPRK and the United States are now shifting to a “hard bargaining option”, testing each other’s positions.

“The American side sharply raised the stakes and this led to the breakdown of the negotiations in Vietnam. For their part, the North Koreans also demonstrate that they are ready to speak from a position of strength, ”the expert says.