N.Korea calls for peace treaty to advance with denuclearization

North Korean state media on Tuesday called for the signing of a peace treaty, saying that mutual trust was necessary to advance with the denuclearization process of the Korean Peninsula.

The North Korean weekly Tongil Sinbo, one of the media used by the Pyongyang regime as a mouthpiece, said in its last edition, that one cannot expect further progress in denuclearization if the US does not take simultaneous measures, such as declaring the end of the war, reports Efe news.

"There has been a breakthrough in the North's relations with the South and the US, but the termination of the war on the Korean Peninsula still remains an unresolved task," the weekly said.

"The US, as a responsible party in the declaration of the end of the war to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, should take practical measures to implement the agreement of the June 12 North-US summit in Singapore," it added.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump reaffirmed in their historic meeting the commitment towards complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and to reaching a definitive peace agreement, already signed by Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, at their earlier summit in late April.

The weekly further warned that "a smooth development of the inter-Korean relations cannot be expected if the South blindly follows foreign forces' policy of hostility towards the North".

Echoing a similar argument, the Meari portal, another website that the Kim Jong-un regime uses as an unofficial mouthpiece, said that building mutual trust is fundamental to revitalising dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, whose slow progress has been attributed to the unilateral demands and hostility of the US.

--IANS

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