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North Korea says it won’t bow down to “gangster-like” U.S. on denuclearization

Click to play video: '‘Determined to achieve commitment’: Pompeo on North Korean talks'
‘Determined to achieve commitment’: Pompeo on North Korean talks
WATCH ABOVE: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, while discussing the North Korean denuclearization process, responds to a question about its requests being “gangster-like” by saying "then the world is a gangster.” – Jul 7, 2018

North Korea says it is disappointed with the way the U.S. has conducted itself in bilateral discussions, saying that the progress made at last month’s historic summit in Singapore is in danger of being eroded.

North Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un had been hopeful that the “good faith” established between himself and U.S. President Donald Trump would hold talks in good stead, but the U.S. had instead insisted on a “unilateral and gangster-like demand” for denuclearization, according to a translated version of the statement published by KCNA Watch, a website that compiles North Korean state media reports.

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Pompeo sends message to Kim Jong Un, says ‘miracle could be yours’ if country replicates Vietnam’s path

The statement claimed the two countries’ gestures of goodwill since the summit were lopsided in their significance, comparing North Korea’s “irreversible step” of dismantling its nuclear test site with the American move to suspend military exercises, “which can be resumed any time at any moment.”

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“We thought that the U.S. side would come with a constructive proposal which accords with the spirit of the DPRK-U.S. summit meeting and talks. But expectation and hope of ours were so naive as to be foolish,” read the statement.

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The U.S. is “fatally mistaken” if it thinks North Korea can be pressured into accepting its demands, the statement continued, adding that a breakdown in the North Korean-U.S. relationship would mean “there is no guarantee that this will not result in yet another tragedy.”

WATCH: North Korea calls talks with Pompeo ‘regrettable,’ contradicting U.S. Secretary of State’s comments 
Click to play video: 'North Korea calls talks with Pompeo ‘regrettable,’ contradicting U.S. Secretary of State’s comments'
North Korea calls talks with Pompeo ‘regrettable,’ contradicting U.S. Secretary of State’s comments

However, the statement also appeared to separate North Korea’s annoyance with the U.S. from its relationship with Trump himself.

“We still cherish our good faith in President Trump. The U.S. should make a serious consideration of whether the toleration of the headwind against the wills of the two top leaders would meet the aspirations and expectations of the world people as well as the interests of its country,” the statement concluded.

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The North Korean statement contradicted remarks made by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said just hours after departing North Korea that the two countries had made progress on several key issues.

“These are complicated issues but we made progress on almost all of the central issues. Some places a great deal of progress, other places there’s still more work to be done,” said Pompeo, according to a pool report from U.S. reporters who accompanied him to Pyongyang.

WATCH: Pompeo says progress made on timeline of North Korea’s denuclearization

Click to play video: 'Pompeo says progress made on timeline of North Korea’s denuclearization'
Pompeo says progress made on timeline of North Korea’s denuclearization

Some U.S. experts said the disputes highlight the risk of Trump granting premature concessions to North Korea.

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“The North Koreans are in the game to get, not to give,” said Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia until last year.

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Trump claims North Korea wouldn’t meet with Obama
“They have gotten the U.S. to back off military exercises, back off using ‘CVID’ [Complete, Verifiable and Irreversible Dismantlement], back off the ‘Libya model’ of rapid denuclearization, back off on human rights, and to look the other way while China relaxes sanctions implementation. So why wouldn’t Kim Jong Un dig in his heels with Pompeo and press his advantage?”

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Abraham Denmark, a senior defense official for East Asia under former President Barack Obama, said: “This is a rejection of U.S. demands for unilateral denuclearisation by North Korea, and a clear message that the U.S. will need to give up more to make progress.”

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— With files from Reuters

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