North Korea says it won’t give Donald Trump a summit for free
North Korea has rebuffed Donald Trump’s invitation to meet, saying that summits have “no benefit”, while Kim Jong-un urged his military to be “armed to the teeth”.
North Korea has responded to a tweet by US President Donald Trump that hinted at another summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying it has no interest in giving Mr Trump further meetings to brag about unless it gets something substantial in return.
According to the New York Post, the statement on Monday by Foreign Ministry adviser Kim Kye Gwan is the latest call by North Korea for US concessions ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by Kim Jong-un for the Trump administration to offer mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage nuclear diplomacy.
Following a US decision over the weekend to call off joint military exercises with South Korea to create space for diplomacy with the North, Mr Trump in a tweet urged Kim Jong-un to “act quickly, get the deal done” and hinted at another summit between them, saying “See you soon!”
But Kim Kye Gwan reiterated his government’s stance that Washington must discard what North Korea sees as “hostile” policies to keep the negotiations alive.
“Although (North Korea and the United States) held three summits and other meetings since June last year, there hasn’t been much improvement in relations and the United States has been just trying to buy time to its favour,” he said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
“We are no longer interested in such meetings that provide us no benefit.”
The statement came hours after KCNA reported that Kim Jong-un supervised a parachuting drill by military sharpshooters and vowed to build an “invincible army,” displaying more defiance despite the decision by the US and South Korea to shelve their drills.
It was North Korea’s second publicised military drill in three days.
A report released on Saturday said Kim urged combat pilots to prepare against enemies “armed to the teeth” while attending a flight demonstration.
Nearly half of North Korea is undernourished as food insecurity hits ‘alarming level’
North Korea has been ramping up missile tests and other military demonstrations in recent months in an apparent pressure tactic over the talks.
Negotiations have faltered since a February summit between Kim and Mr Trump in Vietnam which broke down after the US rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Kim later issued his end-of-year deadline and has also said the North would seek a “new path” if the United States persists with sanctions and pressure.
Working-level talks last month in Sweden broke down over what the North Koreans described as the Americans’ “old stance and attitude.”
North Korea last week said the United States has proposed a resumption of the stalled nuclear negotiations in December. North Korean negotiator Kim Myong Gil didn’t clearly say whether the North would accept the supposed US offer and said the country has no interest in talks if they are aimed at buying time without discussing solutions.
He said North Korea isn’t willing to make a deal over “matters of secondary importance,” such as possible US offers to formally declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War, which was halted by a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, or establish a liaison office between the countries.
NORTH KOREA: JOE BIDEN IS A ‘RABID DOG’
The statement over future meetings came after North Korea lashed out at Joe Biden calling him a “rabid dog” for insulting Kim Jong-un.
The official KCNA news agency did not say how Mr Biden had insulted the North’s leader, but chillingly said the “time has come for him to depart his life”.
According to The Sun it was not immediately clear which of Mr Biden’s comments provoked North Korea’s anger.
The Democrat candidate has accused Mr Trump of cosying up to “dictators and tyrants” and has been highly critical of his summitry with Kim, calling the meetings “three made-for-TV summits”.
Misspelling Mr Biden’s name, KCNA said the former vice president was showing signs of “the final stage of dementia,” and the “time has come for him to depart his life”.
In a commentary, it said “such a guy had the temerity to dare slander the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK,” using the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“It was the last-ditch efforts of the rabid dog expediting his death,” KCNA said.
“Rabid dogs like Baiden (sic) can hurt lots of people if they are allowed to run about.
“They must be beaten to death with a stick, before it is too late.”
In contrast, the North has credited a “close personal relationship” between Kim and Mr Trump for saving ties between their countries from a destructive pattern of hostility.
The leaders have met three times to discuss improving ties and ending the North’s nuclear weapons program.
Andrew Bates, a spokesman for Mr Biden’s presidential campaign, said: “It’s becoming more and more obvious that repugnant dictators, as well as those who admire and ‘love’ them, find Joe Biden threatening.
“That’s because he’d restore American leadership in the world on day one by putting our security, interests, and values at the heart of our foreign policy.”
In May North Korea’s state media has slammed Joe Biden as an imbecile, a “low IQ individual” who is “seized by ambition for power”.
That came days after the former US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate slammed Kim as a “tyrant” and “dictator”.
On Sunday morning local time, Mr Trump chose to retweet North Korea’s put-down of Mr Biden, saying that his opponent is “somewhat better” than a rabid hound.
Mr. Chairman, Joe Biden may be Sleepy and Very Slow, but he is not a “rabid dog.†He is actually somewhat better than that, but I am the only one who can get you where you have to be. You should act quickly, get the deal done. See you soon! https://t.co/kO2k14lTf7
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 17, 2019
The tweet marked a rare — if tepid — defence of Mr Biden, even while getting in a dig at his opponent who he derisively called “Sleepy” and “Very Slow”.
Whether Mr Trump was speaking sincerely or ironically in defending Mr Biden, the former vice president’s first subsequent appearance on Twitter on Sunday was hardly grateful or conciliatory.
Trump's intervention in the American military justice system to pardon service members accused or convicted of war crimes betrays the rule of law, the values that make our country exceptional & the men and women who wear the uniform honorably. He is not fit to command our troops.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 17, 2019
Instead, Mr Biden drew attention to Mr Trump’s pardon on Friday, local time, of a former soldier convicted of murder and a former Green Beret charged with killing a suspected Taliban bombmaker.
“Trump’s intervention in the American military justice system to pardon service members accused or convicted of war crimes betrays the rule of law, the values that make our country exceptional & the men and women who wear the uniform honourably,” Mr Biden posted.
MORE NEWS:
School shooting suspect dies of self-inflicted wound
Mecca megastore launches mistreatment investigation
North Korea is known for colourful attacks on foreign leaders, with propaganda posters believed to be from the country once describing Mr Trump himself as a “mad dog”.
Pyongyang also denounced Mr Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton as a “war maniac” and “human scum”.
Talks between the US and North Korea on reaching a deal over North Korea’s denuclearisation have stalled after a Hanoi summit between Kim and Mr Trump broke up in February. Talks in Sweden last month also broke down.
But Pyongyang welcomed news on Sunday that joint US-South Korean air drills are being postponed in what US Defense Secretary Mark Esper called an “act of goodwill” toward the nuclear-armed North.
— with The Sun and the New York Post
Greens claim Aus ‘complicit’ in genocide
The minor party leader used a statement acknowledging the first anniversary of the October 7 attacks to accuse Israel of genocide, and said Australia was complicit.
Clear sign of who will win the US election
The race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is incredibly tight, but the latest polls show one candidate has a slight lead.
‘Expel him’: Dutton’s big call on Iran
Peter Dutton is urging strong action against Iran after the country’s envoy to Australia sparked yet another controversy on social media.