North Korea on Tuesday, November 5 called the recently released US Department of State's report on terrorism an example of "hostile policy" that is preventing the resumption of denuclearisation talks.
The report "proves once again" that the US has "a hostile policy" against North Korea, said state media citing North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson". The channel of dialogue between the DPRK and the US is more and more narrowing due to such attitude," the statement read, reported Reuters.
The statement comes weeks after US and North Korean officials met to reopen the talks aimed at ending its nuclear programme. However, the talks remain halted with North Korean envoy claiming that the US has failed to negotiate and 'show flexibility'. US President Donald Trump had met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June and had agreed to revive the stalled talks.
Latest reports suggest that the US and North Korea is likely to hold another round of talks in mid-November, South Korean official Lee Eun Jae was quoted as saying after a meeting by Seoul's National Intelligence Service on Monday by Reuters.
The US government report titled "Country Reports on Terrorism 2018" which was released last Friday accused North Korea of state-sponsoring terrorism. "The DPRK government repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, as the DPRK was implicated in assassinations on foreign soil."
The investigation by Malaysian police of Jong Un's estranged half-brother, Kim Jong Nam's assassination at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 2017, identified four North Korean key suspects who have remained at large. Despite Pyongyang's denial of its role in the incident, it was widely reported that Kim Jong Nam's murder was an assassination carried out by his half-brother. In 2018, Jung H Pak of the Brookings Institute said in a report titled 'The education of Kim Jong-un" that Kim Jong Nam was most likely murdered on Jong Un's orders.
The North Korean regime is known to have executed many suspected political adversaries. Jang Song Thaek, the young ruler's uncle and a high-ranking official, was executed in Pyongyang in 2013. Charges including treason and corruption were cited as reasons for his execution.
