Nukes before bromance: Trump-Kim 'personal feelings' are not enough for restarting talks with US – N. Korea

North Korea won't engage in negotiations with the US unless the latter makes real concessions, the country's foreign ministry said, adding that Washington "deceived" it and they were "caught in dialogue" that was a waste of time.

The statement, spelling doom for prospects of the already stalled US-N. Korea negotiations, was released by the country's state media on Saturday. While N. Korea's leader and US President Donald Trump might have good personal relations, it won't get the two countries anywhere.

"Although Chairman Kim Jong Un has good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, 'personal'," the statement reads, adding that the country's leader "would not discuss the state affairs on the basis of such personal feelings, as he represents our state and its interests."

Washington-Pyongyang negotiations, that have blossomed in 2018 and early 2019 turned out to be a waste of time for the country, the Foreign Ministry said. The talks have been stalled since March 2019, when Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi flopped.

We have been deceived by the United States, being caught in the dialogue with it for over one year and a half, and that was the lost time for us.

N. Korea will not make any new generous proposals, like it did before – for instance, dismantling of nuclear facilities in exchange for UN sanctions relief – and won't seek engaging into talks with the US altogether until the latter makes some real concessions first.

"The reopening of dialogue between the DPRK and the U.S. may be possible only under the condition of the latter's absolute agreement on the issues raised by the former, but we know well that the US is neither ready nor able to do so," the statement reads.

Pyongyang also did not miss the opportunity to take a jab at its southern counterpart, mocking the efforts of Seoul to convey Trump's birthday wishes to Kim and to become a mediator in US-N. Korea relations altogether. The country's leader has already received the wishes from Trump "through a personal letter" beforehand, the Foreign Ministry stated, suggesting that Seoul has apparently overlooked the "special liaison channel" between the top leaders of US and N. Korea.

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