Correction at 1410 EST: An earlier version of this article did not include the specific quote pertaining to what North Korea offered the U.S. for sanctions relief. This has been amended. 

North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho on Friday disputed Washington’s account that North Korea had asked for all sanctions to be removed in order for negotiations to progress.

Speaking at a surprise, late press conference in Hanoi given after midnight local time, the DPRK foreign minister said Pyongyang had asked for “partial” sanctions relief.

“What we proposed was not the removal of all sanctions but their partial removal,” Ri told