March 28, 2024
Opinion

Why a new North Korean statement on denuclearization should come as no surprise

Thursday's KCNA dispatch, put simply, represents a honest admission of Pyongyang's real intentions

On Thursday, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency dropped what appeared to be a bombshell commentary. The statement, seemingly, delivered a massive blow to the denuclearization dream, saying that North Korea will surrender its nuclear weapons only when and if U.S. forces and the nuclear umbrella is withdrawn from the Korean peninsula and the region.

The statement says clearly: "When we refer to the Korean peninsula, the term encompasses the area of DPRK plus South Korean territory where U.S. nuclear weapons and other forms of aggression forces are deployed."

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