North Korea sees no improvement in relations to be made by maintaining Kim-Trump ties: KCNA

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets US President Donald Trump in Panmunjom, on June 30, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS

SEOUL (REUTERS) - North Korea sees no improvement in relations to be made by maintaining a relationship between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and United States President Donald Trump, state media reported on Friday (June 12) on the two-year anniversary of the leaders' first summit.

US policies prove Washington remains a long-term threat to the North Korean state and its people, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon said in a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.

The Singapore summit in June 2018 represented the first time a sitting American president met a North Korean leader, but the statement that came out of the meeting was light on specifics, opting instead for four general commitments.

Mr Ri said that in retrospect the Trump administration appears to have been focusing on only scoring political points while seeking to isolate and suffocate North Korea, and threatening it with pre-emptive nuclear strikes and regime change.

"Never again will we provide the US chief executive with another package to be used for achievements without receiving any returns," he said.

"Nothing is more hypocritical than an empty promise."

On Thursday, North Korea criticised the US for commenting on inter-Korean affairs, and said Washington should stay quiet if it wants the upcoming presidential election to go smoothly.

Mr Ri said North Korea's desire to open a new cooperative era runs as deep as ever, but that the situation on the Korean peninsula is daily taking a turn for the worse.

"The US professes to be an advocate for improved relations with the DPRK, but in fact, it is hell-bent on only exacerbating the situation," he said.

The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

North Korea will continue to build up its military forces to cope with the threats from the US, Mr Ri said.

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