North Korea makes new demands in nuclear talks

North Korea on Thursday rejected U.S. calls to unilaterally denuclearize unless the United States also eliminates its “nuclear threat” on the Korean Peninsula. The North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the peninsula includes both North and South Korea, “where U.S. nuclear weapons and other forms of aggression forces are deployed.” The United States removed nuclear weapons from South Korea in the 1990s but still has a “nuclear umbrella” in the form of bombers and submarines in place in the region to protect its allies if needed. The U.S. military also still has about 28,000 troops deployed in South Korea.

The statement is the latest complication in ongoing denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea, which have so far remained vague. The United States has said it will not lift sanctions from the North until it makes more efforts to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

“It is obvious that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a joint business that cannot be achieved unless both Korea and the United States strive together,” the KCNA said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump are trying to schedule a meeting for early next year.