DPRK Permanent Representative to the UN Kim Song stated that the issue of nuclear disarmament is no longer relevant for the talks between Pyongyang and Washington. And the dialogue itself, according to him, is not so necessary.

“Right now, we don’t need to have long negotiations with the United States, and denuclearization is no longer on the list of topics for discussion,” said Kim Soong.

North Korea previously took a different position on the issue of nuclear disarmament on the Korean peninsula. In September, the United States and the DPRK suspended negotiations (they were held in Sweden) on denuclearization, but North Korean leader Kim Jong-un allowed them to be resumed.

“Until the end of the year, I will patiently wait for a change in the position of the United States,” he said, speaking to deputies in Pyongyang.

In parallel with the statement by Kim Sung, the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea (CTAC), the main North Korean media, published a message from a representative of the DPRK National Defense Academy. It says that in the second half of December 7 at the "satellite test site" of Sohe, "a very significant test was conducted." However, the journalists did not give any details. It is not even clear what exactly was tested.

"The result of the current significant test will soon have a key impact on the next change in the strategic status of the DPRK," the report briefly notes.

Sohe Cosmodrome is located on the west coast of the DPRK, in the area of ​​the settlement of Tonghanni. There is a vertical stand for testing rocket engines and a platform for rocket launches. The Gwangmyonson and Eunha launch vehicles, which delivered North Korean satellites into space, also launched from here. Last year, it was reported that the landfill was partially dismantled as part of Pyongyang's policy to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

At the same time, a few days before the unknown tests, the deputy head of the North Korean Foreign Ministry, Lee Tae Sung, stated that Pyongyang has a “Christmas present” for the United States.

“The dialogue advertised by the United States is, in fact, just an absurd ruse, designed to force the DPRK to continue negotiations and use them in the interests of the political situation and US elections. The next step is for America, and it depends only on her what gift she will receive for Christmas, ”the diplomat said.

The threat of a new stage of the crisis

Experts rather cautiously evaluate Kim Sung’s statement that there is no need to continue the dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington. Leading researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of the Far East, Yevgeny Kim, believes that in this case we should wait until the head of the DPRK speaks out.

  • Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump
  • Reuters
  • © Kevin Lamarque

“Kim Jong-un gave the Americans a deadline of up to the end of the year to change the situation. Accordingly, the country's position on the issue of negotiations with the United States, in theory, should be expressed by himself, ”the expert said in a comment to RT.

In turn, an assistant professor at St. Petersburg State University, Irina Lantsova, believes that Kim’s statement, although not equivalent to Kim Jong-un’s, still reflects the trend that North Korea’s policy follows.

“For a long time, the situation has turned towards the deterioration of relations between the USA and the DPRK. The failure of the negotiations showed that the United States will insist on its position that North Korea should first disarm, and then the United States will lift the sanctions. This Pyongyang is not happy. Under such conditions, North Korea is gradually withdrawing from negotiations and will continue to develop its nuclear program, ”she said in an interview with RT.

Lantsova predicts the onset of a new phase of the crisis in relations between North Korea and the United States, when Pyongyang and Washington will try to raise rates in the negotiations. Sohe trials can be part of this promotion process.

What was tested

Whether or not a really serious crisis has come in relations between the two countries, it largely depends on what was tested at the Sohe training ground and what tests will follow, experts say.

According to Eugene Kim, the maximum that the North Koreans will go to by the end of the year is the launch of a medium-range missile over the sea. The resumption of nuclear tests until January 2020 is out of the question, he believes.

  • North Korean rocket leader
  • Reuters
  • © KCNA

However, Irina Lantsova believes that the situation is somewhat more complicated.

“When there was a series of active North Korean trials in 2016-2017, it was more due not to political, but to technical reasons. It was necessary to develop material. Without testing, a nuclear missile program would not have advanced. Now, it is possible that the DPRK also faced the need to verify some developments, ”she says.

Although Lantsova also considers it unlikely that nuclear weapons could be tested before the end of the year, she still admits that North Korea will take more serious steps than launching medium-range missiles.

At the same time, Kim Dong Yup, professor at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at South Korean University at Gyeongnam University, suggested in RIA Novosti that preparations were made for testing a solid-fuel engine for intercontinental ballistic missiles.

“If North Korea is testing rocket engines in Tonghanni, then perhaps the next step will be testing a solid-fuel engine for ICBMs. This could be the perfect “Christmas present” for the United States, which Pyongyang had previously warned about, ”the agency quotes a South Korean expert.

However, judging by the TsTAK report, North Korea has so far limited itself to some kind of test of ballistic technologies for launching an artificial satellite into space, said expert on political development of the DPRK Institute of the Far East, Alexander Zhebin. In 2013, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions on DPRK for launching satellites using ballistic technologies.

“The DPRK has never recognized this ban. Pyongyang believes that such prohibitions against only one country are unfair and unfounded. Therefore, the DPRK did not comply and does not intend to comply with it, ”Zhebin said in an interview with RT.

Nevertheless, the expert believes that you should not mix two things - launching a satellite, even using ballistic technologies, and launching a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear charge.

“The fact that these technologies can be used to test ICBMs is a fact. But still, there is a big difference between the tests of an intercontinental ballistic missile and the launch of a satellite. It cannot be ruled out that the DPRK’s “Christmas present” will be limited to launching a satellite, ”Zhebin said.