North Korean official says Kim may break off nuclear talks and end missile launch moratorium

BREAKING: North Korea's foreign ministry has said Pyongyang will "never yield" to US demands, says to be considering breaking off denuclearisation talks, Russia's TASS news agency reports

Kim Jong Un is set to make an announcement soon on talks, senior North Korean diplomat Choe Son-hui told a briefing in Pyongyang, according to TASS

North Korea is considering suspending nuclear talks with the United States, Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said on Friday, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.https://reut.rs/2UCxMMX 

AP's report: North Korea has no intention of compromising or continuing talks unless the U.S. takes measures that are commensurate to the changes it has taken — such as the 15-month moratorium on launches and tests — and changes its “political calculation”https://apnews.com/5e747986f9204bd88ed0b38ab314c22a …

More from AP: Senior North Korea official says U.S. threw away golden opportunity at Hanoi summit, warns Kim may rethink moratorium on missile launches

In full TASS report, Choe says US came into Hanoi summit with "no sincere intention to achieve a result."http://tass.com/world/1048754 

Choe: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and US National Security Adviser John Bolton "created the atmosphere of hostility and mistrust and, therefore, obstructed the constructive effort for negotiations between the supreme leaders of North Korea and the United States."

AP's full report has more measured comments from Choe, including comments on Kim's view of Trump: "Personal relations between the two supreme leaders are still good and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful.”

On the moratorium on missile and nuke tests: “Whether to maintain this moratorium or not is the decision of our chairman of the state affairs commission,” Choe said, using one of Kim Jong Un’s titles. “He will make his decision in a short period of time.”

Hot dog. This kind of statement from Choe would indicate that a decision has already been made and is more of a way to prime the international community. #NorthKoreahttps://twitter.com/joshjonsmith/status/1106403679496617984 …

This again does *not* mean that a launch is imminent. North Korea’s 1999 launch was brought into question by Pyongyang in 2003 after the Agreed Framework collapsed; the moratorium actually broke in practice only in 2006. (Pyongyang broke the moratorium verbally in 2005.)

Know why it's possible for North Korea to say this? Because Kim entered into diplomacy from a position of strength, not because of maximum pressure. The single most important message from #OntheBrink (other than the risks of nuclear war)https://twitter.com/nktpnd/status/1106412572629233664 …

All this stuff coming out of Pyongyang is test-balloon launching right now... But maybe it’s time for @TheBlueHouseENG to finally use Moon’s hotline to KJU and actually make a call? (I understand this has never actually been used). Maybe Moon cld share the line w/ Trump, too..https://twitter.com/rover829/status/1106403232417349632 …

We may be back to “fire and fury” quicker than originally anticipated. Alternatively, both parties could step back from the brink and be reasonable (replace the grand-slam deal with small-ball). Failing that, deterrence & conflict management. War is no option at all.https://twitter.com/joshjonsmith/status/1106391592401723392 …

Pyongyang set to break off denuclearization talks with Washington — diplomat http://tass.com/world/1048754  © Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASS