INCREASED TENSIONS BETWEEN N. KOREA-U.S.

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North Korea is upping its pressure on the U.S. as only two months remain until the deadline it had set for denuclearization talks at the year's end. North Korea's Workers' Party Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol, who had organized two previous summits between Chairman Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, sharply denounced Washington, saying that it is a foolish delusion to buy time with the friendship between the two leaders.

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Yesterday, North Korea's Workers' Party Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol issued a statement aimed at the U.S. Kim announced the statement as the chair of the regime's Asia-Pacific Peace Committee originally formed to improve ties with America and other countries with no diplomatic relations. It came three days after first vice foreign minister Kim Kye-kwan issued a statement. The content of the latest statement was much tougher. Kim Yong-chol said the U.S. is being delusional, if it is trying to buy time and take the matter into next year on the pretext of the friendship between the leaders of Pyongyang and Washington. He added that friendship helps maintain bilateral ties, but stressed everything has its limits. The official emphasized the trust between the leaders does not guarantee that relations would not deteriorate. Kim's statement appears to be in protest of America's lack of response to the North's demands following the working-level meeting in Stockholm. He complained that the U.S. is touting the regime's trust-building measures as its own diplomatic achievements even when there is no progress in bilateral relations. The high-ranking party official strongly denounced the country, pointing out that Washington recently misjudged Pyongyang's patience and tolerance and is going crazy with its anti-North Korea policies. This is the first time that Kim Yong-chol spoke out in public about the two sides' relations since the summit in Hanoi broke down in February.