<p class="p3"><span class="s1">The North Korean Foreign Ministry this week accused the US government of engaging in “extreme hostile acts” against Pyongyang after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that sanctions on 80% of North Korea’s economy are what brought Kim to the negotiating table. </span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">“Our state is not a country that will surrender to the US sanctions, nor are we a country which the US could attack whenever it desires to do so,&#8221; said the ministry in a statement. The statement </span><span class="s1">accused Pompeo of slander but referred to Donald Trump as “supreme leader.”</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">Hours after the rebuke, South Korean President Moon Jae-in suggested the possibility of a third summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. </span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">“There’s no reason to regard the current situation as a stalemate in the peace process on the peninsula just because the pace has remained slow,” said Moon. “Complete denuclearization and a permanent peace regime on the peninsula are tasks that cannot be achieved overnight.&#8221;</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore last summer, signing a historic treaty we expected would lead to negotiations about denuclearization and sanctions relief. </span><span class="s1">The second summit, held in Vietnam in February, broke down when Trump rejected Kim’s demand for sanctions relief in exchange for the dismantling of Pyongyang’s main nuclear complex.</span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">Despite the setback, both leaders have described their personal relationship as good. Last week, the White House confirmed the two had been exchanging private letters. </span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">“It’s noteworthy that behind-the-scenes talks have been preceded by the mutual understanding of each other’s position gained through the Hanoi summit,” said Moon. </span></p>
<p class="p3"><span class="s1">President Trump will visit South Korea next week to speak with Moon after attending a G20 summit in Japan. He is considering a trip to heavily defended DMZ that </span><span class="s1">divides the Korean peninsula. </span></p>