Kim warns of change in direction on denuclearisation

International Desk: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he is committed to denuclearisation, but warned he will change course if the US continues its sanctions.

He made the remarks during his closely-watched annual New Year's address.

Last year's speech set the country on an unprecedented path of international diplomacy with South Korea and the US.

Mr Kim met US President Donald Trump to discuss denuclearisation in June 2018 but with few results so far.

Last year's rapprochement came after a turbulent 2017 marked by North Korea testing missiles that could reach the US mainland and an escalation in rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington with both sides trading insults and threats of nuclear destruction.

The annual New Year's address is a tradition Mr Kim picked up from his grandfather, founder of the communist country, Kim Il-sung.

The speech is aimed primarily at a domestic audience and like previous year focussed largely on the economy, but international observers scan every line for clues to Pyongyang's international agenda as well.

In this year's speech, broadcast on state television early on Tuesday, Mr Kim said "if the US does not keep its promise made in front of the whole world... and insists on sanctions and pressures on our republic, we may be left with no choice but to consider a new way to safeguard our sovereignty and interests".

Source: BBC


risingbd/Dhaka/Jan 1, 2019/AI