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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho after approaching him and shaking his hand during the ASEAN Regional Forum at Singapore’s EXPO Convention and Exhibition Centre on Aug. 4 (Yonhap News)

“We believe that a method involving the balanced, simultaneous, step-by-step implementation of all terms in the Joint Statement, preceded by the establishment of trust, is the only realistic means of achieving success.”

This was the statement of principles and methodology stated by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho for implementation of Joint Statement from the North Korea-US summit on June 12, as announced on Aug. 4 in a speech at the 25th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the Singapore Expo convention center.

Ri also emphasized two other areas: that “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s unswerving resolution and commitment to responsible, good-faith implementation of the Joint Statement” and the “unacceptability of a situation in which we alone are the first to move unilaterally.” In short, his message read as Pyongyang declaring that it will not accept a unilateral denuclearization scenario, while urging the US to implement the terms of the June 12 Joint Statement in a “balanced, simultaneous, step-by-step” manner.

Ri’s speech is significant as the first case of a North Korea diplomatic leader speaking publicly since the June 12 North Korea-US summit to relate Pyongyang’s official position after consideration of the June 12 statement’s implementation and the recent political situation. While North Korea did state its views in a July 7 Foreign Ministry spokesperson’s statement shortly after a third visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, the format and lower ranking of the figure responsible meant it was less “official” in character than Ri’s speech.

Ri used the expression “building trust” eight times and variants of “new” eleven times (including references to methods, history, currents, strategy, and relationships) in a roughly 700-word speech, while stressing the importance of a break with the longstanding hostile relationship between Pyongyang and Washington. In particular, he emphasized trust building as the “essential key to guaranteeing complete implementation of the North Korea-US joint statement.”

“When the US allows us to relax and move closer, we will be able to open our hearts to the US and show that through our actions,” he said.

“This is the core of the agreement reached by the leaders of North Korea and the US,” he added.

Ri was also critical of Washington’s attitude in his speech.

“Far from responding in kind to the good-faith measures we took the initiative in adopting, including halts to nuclear testing and rocket launches and the dismantlement of our nuclear test site, the US has only grown louder in its insistence on maintaining sanctions, and has been backtracking even on the matter of a declaration ending the [Korean] war, which is the most rudimentary of rudimentary measures to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

“The worrying thing is the continued expression of attempts in the US to return to the old ways despite the intentions of the leadership,” he continued.

“We must not allow backlash against the leaders’ intentions to arise with the North Korea-US Joint Statement becoming a scapegoat to US domestic politics,” he stressed. His remarks avoided targeting US President Donald Trump for criticism himself while at the same time laying the blame for the recent deadlock over implementation of the June 12 statement at the US’s feet.

Institute for National Security Strategy senior research fellow Cho Sung-ryul said the message “seems to signal that [Pyongyang] has no plans of breaking the agreement between the North Korean and US leaders.”

“But there are differences between the two sides on the matter of a declaration ending the war, which North Korea seems to view as a necessary measure to build trust and the US as a corresponding measure for the first significant steps in connection with meaningful denuclearization,” he added.

By Kim Ji-eun and Noh Ji-won, staff reporters

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