SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th January, 2020) The lack of progress in the dialogue between the United States and North Korea on the denuclearization of the peninsula was last year's biggest regret, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Friday.
"What I regret most is that the dialogue between North Korea and the United State did not properly work out. Most of all, I regret that the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi [February 2019] ended with nothing. If there had been any progress in the dialogue between North Korea and the US, we would be able to make great progress toward peace on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean cooperation, and also give hope to divided families," Moon Jae-in said in an interview with the South Korean SBS radio broadcaster.
The US-North Korea negotiations have been in limbo since the North Korean delegation departed from the October talks in Sweden, saying that the negotiations were a failure as the United States had come empty-handed. The US side disagreed, stating that the sides had good discussions. From the North Korean point of view, the US has not been responding in good faith to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's attempts to settle the issue. Pyongyang threatens to change its course regarding the denuclearization process unless the Trump administration offers more acceptable terms.
In early January, Kim stated that Pyongyang would not implement the ban on nuclear testing until the United States offered some concessions.
