Published : Sept. 3, 2018 - 13:42
North Korea's main newspaper on Monday carried a commentary on Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election, which can be interpreted as its siding with Moscow in the two countries' conflict.
The commentary by the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the North's Workers' Party, dealt with a recent meeting between the US.
national security adviser, John Bolton, and his Russian counterpart, Nikolai Patrushev, in Geneva, under the title "Cloudy outlook for inconsistent relationship between Russia and the US."
(Yonhap)
Bolton and Patrushev failed to sign a joint statement following their lengthy talks at the US Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, on Aug. 23.
"The five-hour-long talks ended without a joint statement or joint news conference. That's because the US side demanded that the statement should include reference to Russian involvement in the American election," said the Rodong Sinmun, apparently attributing responsibility to Washington.
"The US warned it won't allow Russian interference in its midterm elections in November and take necessary steps to prevent a repeat of Russian intervention. Russia has no reason to agree to a statement acknowledging its interference in the US election," said the North's newspaper.
The Rodong commentary drew attention, as it came amid a deadlock in North Korea-US relations over denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and a declaration to end the 1950-53 Korean War.
The commentary can also be interpreted to mean Pyongyang is siding with Moscow in its conflict with Washington over the allegations of election intervention, watchers say.
"Overall, the Geneva talks disappointed all the people wishing for world peace and security. Russia and the US have continued to cause frictions in politics, economy, military and other areas. It has been proven that it's realistically difficult for the two countries to resolve their bilateral inconsistency based on different geopolitical interests," said the newspaper. (Yonhap)