The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) vice foreign minister said on Tuesday that the United States will face undesired consequences if it fails to present a new position in denuclearization talks, state media reported.
KCNA news agency quoted Choe Son Hui as saying that the DPRK's resolve for denuclearization remains unchanged, but that peace will only happen if the United States changes its current calculations.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo expressed confidence Monday that continued sanctions will help achieve the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during a talk hosted by U.S. news outlet The Hill.
"We're confident as we continue to apply the economic pressure to North Korea (DPRK) that we'll get another opportunity to unlock and get North Korea (DPRK) to denuclearize," the top U.S. diplomat said.
The DPRK and the U.S. have been at an impasse since the second U.S.-DPRK summit in Vietnam in February which ended without an agreement.
The two sides have been at loggerheads about whether sanctions relief or denuclearization should come first.
When asked whether a third summit between President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un would happen, the U.S. official said, "Don't know. I don't know."
"We want to make sure that we create the conditions where, if we deliver that, if the two leaders get together, that we can make substantial progress."
Pyongyang has expressed its frustration with the stalled negotiation process and recently called for Pompeo to be replaced with a "more careful and mature" negotiator.
As a response, Pompeo said that he has no plans to leave his post.
