A man reads Rodong Sinmun at a hotel in Pyongyang in this undated file photo.
A North Korean state media outlet downplayed the deadlock in its negotiating process with the United States as a "temporary phenomenon" that typically happens at times of great changes.
The North's main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, made the assessment in an editorial reviewing 2018, saying there has been a "dramatic change" in the country's strategic position in the international community.
Referring to the North's historic first-ever summit with the U.S. and three inter-Korean summits, the newspaper said that a new trend has taken shape on the Korean Peninsula and in the region toward peace and reducing tensions.
"Of course, it is true that difficulties have been created in our way forward ... But this is nothing but a temporary phenomenon that happens at a time when old things die out and new things emerge," the editorial said.
The editorial was apparently referring to the denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. that have been stalled over the North's demand for sanctions relief and the U.S. insistence on keeping sanctions until the North takes further denuclearization measures.
The newspaper also said that 2018 is a meaningful year as leader Kim Jong-un made a "significant political decision" to mobilize all resources toward developing the economy in order to break through international sanctions.
"Self-sufficiency" is the only way for the country to move forward, it said.
The newspaper also highlighted the country's fight against corruption as a major achievement of the year. (Yonhap)
《半熟戀人》第二季官宣定檔 陳妍希迎來戀綜首秀
詹姆斯曬漏判：好帽@塔圖姆??????
麥迪發問：若都在巔峰你選誰？羅斯&德羅贊or莫蘭特&羅伊？
Samsung Biologics signs 426 billion won land purchase deal to build 2nd campus 
Yellen visits LG Chem for Korea
查看所有0條評論>>