Nuclear-armed North Korea wants good relations with the US but could consider a change of approach if Washington maintains its sanctions, leader Kim Jong-un warned in his New Year speech on Tuesday after 12 months of diplomatic rapprochement.
At a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June the two signed a vaguely worded pledge on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.
But progress has since stalled with Pyongyang and Washington arguing over what that means.
“If the US fails to carry out its promise to the world... and remains unchanged in its sanctions and pressure upon the DPRK,” Kim said Tuesday, “we might be compelled to explore a new path for defending the sovereignty of our country and supreme interests of our state”.
The VOA Korean Program anlyses the implications of Kim's New Year message.
