U.S. and South Korea not on best of terms, says NK

SEOUL, South Korea – Relations between South Korea and the United States are not in good shape, a North Korean state media agency said on Sunday, criticising Washington for unveiling a “unilateral” and “gangster-like” attitude towards North Korea’s nuclear policy.

Yonhap news agency cited North Korea’s Meari, a propaganda website, as saying that the US is responsible for the discord as it has been “pressuring South Korean authorities to adjust the pace” of the inter-Korean reconciliation process along with the progress in denuclearisation talks.

“The US and South Korean authorities are trumpeting ‘a stronger than ever US-Korea alliance,’ but if we look inside, their relationship doesn’t seem all that comfortable,” the website said.

The state media further noted that Washington is “bluntly ignoring” South Korea’s opinion and stressed that the US has no right to interfere with internal issues of other nations.

“After all, the fundamental cause of the conflict and friction between the US and South Korea, which came to the surface recently, lies in the unilateral and gangster-like behaviour of the US,” the website added.

Talks between the US and North Korea hit a roadblock after the second summit in Vietnam ended abruptly with no joint statement being released. The two sides reportedly failed to resolve their differences on sanction waivers.

North Korea has since launched multiple projectiles as a sign of their apparent frustration regarding the stalled talks and continuing sanctions.

Pyongyang has repeatedly insisted that the removal of penalties will help spur economic growth, whereas Washington has reaffirmed that sanctions will not be removed till the communist country completely stopped its nuclear weapons programme. (ANI)

(Photo credit: AFP | JUNG Yeon-Je).