According to various reporting partners, though more than 10 days had passed since the Hanoi summit, no inminban (local political unit) meetings had been held. Apparently, explanations of the summit’s outcome were not offered at any other organization meetings either.
The one reason being offered as an explanation for the breakdown of the denuclearization talks, however, is Donald Trump.
The above-mentioned partner from North Hamkyung Province explained, “I know how the talks broke down because you (ASIAPRESS) let me know, but most people have not been told anything. Nevertheless, I find it strange that the regime is saying the U.S. did not keep its promises and is going so far as to bring up the organizational flaws of the Trump administration. I think that the authorities are purposefully circulating these ideas.”
Another reporting partner argued, “It would be a useful strategy as political propaganda to blame Trump for the breakdown of the summit.”
Various state media, including Chosun Central Television, widely reported on Kim Jong-un’s departure from Pyongyang by train for the summit with Trump in Vietnam. However, the lifting of sanctions, which many North Koreans had expected, was not successfully negotiated for and Kim Jong-un came home empty-handed. Now, the regime must be agonizing over how to explain the summit’s failure to the public. (Kang Ji-won)
※ASIAPRESS contacts partners in North Korea through mobile phones smuggled in from China.
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Editor’s notes on North Korean reporters
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