former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan
[Anchor]
North Korea says dialogue with the United States can resume only when it fully accepts Pyongyang's demands.
The statement by former North Korean chief nuclear envoy Kim Kye-gwan comes after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned of a "new strategic weapon" test in his New Year's Day message.
Sehhyeong Kim reports.
[Reporter]
In a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency today, Kim Kye-gwan stressed his country would never engage in a negotiation to exchange its core nuclear facility for partial sanctions relief.
The current foreign ministry adviser of Pyongyang also said while the reopening of dialogue may be possible only if Washington absolutely agrees on the issues raised by the North, the U.S. is neither ready nor able to do so.
Calling the relations between the leaders of the U.S. and the North "not bad," the former negotiator said that the North received Trump's personal letter congratulating the North Korean leader on his birthday.
But he said it would be "absent-minded" to anticipate the North's return to dialogue because of the leaders' friendly relations.
He went on to say that the North Korean leader has "personal" feelings toward Trump, but he would not discuss the state affairs on the basis of such feelings.
Sehhyeong Kim, eFM News.■
<Image: Yonhap News>
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