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DPRK says not interested in negotiations that require only denuclearization - UPDATED

DPRK says not interested in negotiations that require only denuclearization - <span style="color: red;">UPDATED

16 May 2018 05:01 (UTC +04:00)

North Korea announced that it is not interested in talks which require only denuclearization, DPRK's First Deputy Foreign Minister said, APA reports.

North Korea's First Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan also said that Pyongyang would go for negotiations with Trump only if he is interested in improving relations.

The First Deputy Foreign Minister said that if Pyongyang gets only unilateral demands on denuclearization, it would have nothing else to do but to reconsider the upcoming talks between the Unoted States and North Korea.

Earlier, Pyongyang announced that it would be suspending the May 16 talks with South Korea over ongoing joint military drills Max Thunder, being conducted by Seoul and Washington, which were reportedly a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korea and deemed a "provocation" by Pyongyang.

Talks between Kim and US President Donald Trump were expected to take place in Singapore on June 12. However, North Korea was threatening to suspend the US summit as well.

The US State Department said it has had no information from North Korea about the threat to cancel the summit between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump and was moving ahead with preparations for the meeting.