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Kim Jong Un’s “warm compatriotism” is responsible for thawing tensions, says Kim Jong Un

“The great change in the North-South relations is not an accidental one but a noble fruition made thanks to the DPRK’s proactive measure, warm compatriotism and will for defending peace.”
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North Korea claimed Wednesday its “warm compatriotism” was the driving force for the easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, not Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy.

In Pyongyang’s first significant public statement since Trump agreed to meet with Kim Jong Un, the hermit kingdom claimed full responsibility for the burgeoning regional detente.

“The great change in the North-South relations is not an accidental one but a noble fruition made thanks to the DPRK’s proactive measure, warm compatriotism and will for defending peace,” an editorial in the Korean Central News Agency said.

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The article described Trump’s claim that his policy of maximum pressure and increased sanctions had brought Kim to the negotiating table as “such rubbish.”

The editorial did not directly reference the planned summit between Trump and Kim, though it did mention “a sign of change” in relations with Washington and a “dramatic atmosphere for reconciliation.”

Diplomats and academics from North Korea, South Korea and the U.S. were in Finland this week to discuss relations between the three countries, though denuclearization was reportedly not discussed.

“The participants had a constructive exchange of views in a positive atmosphere," Kimmo Lahdevirta, head of the Asia desk at the Finnish foreign ministry, told reporters at the close of the meeting.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday it is ready to conduct nuclear verification work on North Korea, but the agency’s Deputy Director General Tero Varjoranta said the process will be neither short nor easy.

“We have no misunderstandings,” Varjoranta said ahead of a high-level policy consultation meeting between the IAEA and South Korea in Seoul. “The path is very challenging. The path is very long. We are happy to take whatever it takes from our side to ensure that things will work right.”

Despite hopes that easing tensions could lead to Pyongyang giving up its nuclear arsenal, many experts say this remains unlikely.

“North Korea is not going to give up its nuclear weapons and China will not push North Koreans to do so,” John Mearsheimer, a professor at the University of Chicago, said this week. “The reason is that in international politics, you could never trust anybody because you cannot be certain of what their intentions are.”

Cover image: This undated picture released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on January 13, 2018 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un visiting the State Academy of Sciences at an undisclosed location. (AFP/Getty Images)