North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong ho told the United Nations on Saturday that continued sanctions on Pyongyang were deepening its mistrust in the United States.
"Without any trust in the US there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first," Mr Ri told the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations.
China and Russia have said the UN Security Council should reward Pyongyang for steps taken after US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in June and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearisation.
"The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe-dream of the people who are ignorant about us. But the problem is that the continued sanctions are deepening our mistrust," Mr Ri said.
However, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the UN Security Council on Thursday: "Enforcement of Security Council sanctions must continue vigorously and without fail until we realise the fully, final, verified denuclearisation."
Mr Ri noted that North Korea had taken "significant good-will measures such as stopping nuclear and ICBM tests, dismantling the nuclear test site in a transparent manner and affirming not to transfer nuclear weapons and nuclear technology under any circumstances."
"However, we do not see any corresponding response from the US," he added.
The Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
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MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
ELIO
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Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
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Nissan 370z Nismo
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