South Korea’s presidential office spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom speaks during a news briefing at the presidential office in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap
SEOUL, July 9 (UPI) -- South Korea's presidential office said the United States and North Korea are in a power struggle in which neither want to give in, regarding the split reactions shown by both sides after the high-level talks on denuclearization in Pyongyang.
"We see at it as a power struggle where both sides try to win an advantageous position as the negotiation process proceeds," said Kim Eui-kyeom, South Korea's presidential office spokesperson said during a news briefing on Monday, comparing the U.S.-North negotiation to a Korean traditional wrestling game, Joongang Ilbo reported.
"What appears on the surface may look aggressive reactions."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and North Korea's top denuclearization negotiator Kim Yong-chol met in Pyongyang for their two-day talks as a follow-up to the U.S.-North summit in Singapore.
Pompeo called the meeting with North Korean negotiators "very productive" and said they discussed the timeline and declaration of the North's nuclear and missile facilities, according to Yonhap.
North Korea denounced a U.S. approach to the denuclearization negotiation in the statement released by a foreign minister spokesperson through its state media KCNA.
"The U.S. side came up only with its unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization just calling for CVID, declaration and verification, all of which run counter to the spirit of the Singapore summit meeting and talks," the statement said.
CVID stands for complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of the North Korea's nuclear program, the long-standing goal for North's nuclear disarmament.
Pompeo hit back saying: "If those requests were gangster-like, the world is a gangster," at the news conference in Tokyo with Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers on Sunday.
South Korea's presidential office viewed the meeting as the first working-level talks held after the Singapore summit where negotiators of both sides openly talked about what they wanted.
"The two-day meeting lasted a total of nine hours," said Kim. "This is the first time they openly shared what they wanted."
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he sees the ongoing U.S.-North negotiation on denuclearization "positive and optimistic" in his meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday, Yonhap reported. Moon is on a state visit to India.
Moon acted as a mediator between the nations in the run-up to the Singapore summit on June 12.
