N. Korea slams U.S. for continuing "hostile acts" and S. Korea for mediating

北 "북미대화에 남한 참견말라"... 文대통령 '물밑대화' 발언 전면 부정A senior official at North Korea's foreign ministry issued a statement this morning slamming the U.S. for what he calls "hostile acts" and Seoul for acting as a mediator.Oh Jung-hee has this story. A strong message of discontent from North Korea over America's (quote)"hostile acts" and Seoul's efforts to mediate.The official in charge of U.S. affairs at Pyeongyang's foreign ministry, Kwon Jong-gun, issued a statement on Thursday.He urged the U.S. to change its calculations when it comes to the nuclear talks, saying dialogue won't resume unless Washington offers realistic measures that satisfy both sides. He stressed that the deadline is indeed the end of this year and the North means it. The official denounced South Korea as well.Pyeongyang and Washington are the two parties involved, he said,... and they don't need Seoul to mediate.And despite Seoul's claims that dialogue is going on behind the scenes, he said that in fact... nothing is happening.The statement slams both Seoul and Washington in a fairly strong tone.It came on the very next day after the regime condemned the U.S. for continuing what it called "hostile acts," referring to the recent extension of sanctions by another year.And, the statement included a direct rebuttal to President Moon Jae-in's remark on Wednesday... that North Korea and the U.S. are engaged in discussions behind the scenes about a third summit."The content of the statement is very strong. The North outright rejected South Korea's role as a mediator and President Moon's remark. The timing of it also raises eyebrows. It showed distrust towards Seoul."There are concerns that this statement might throw a wet blanket on what seemed to be nuclear diplomacy about to resume... with the recent exchange of letters between Kim Jong-un and Trump.But the expert said that the door is still open for dialogue."Seoul's unification ministry didn't respond to the North's statement.It said... Seoul will stay involved and continue working to resume dialogue as soon as possible between the two Koreas and between North Korea and the U.S., to achieve denuclearization and peace.Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News."