(3rd LD) N.K. leader calls repeatedly for 'self-reliance' to prove sanctions won't work

(ATTN: ADDS Pompeo's remarks and more info in last 4 paras; CHANGES photo)
By Koh Byung-joon

SEOUL, April 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called repeatedly for self-reliant economic development during a key meeting of the Workers' Party, as he vowed never to give in to sanctions amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States, state media said Thursday.

Kim made the remark during a plenary session of the Central Committee of the ruling party Wednesday, a day before the North is to convene the first session of its 14th Supreme People's Assembly, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

"With our own power and technology befitting our conditions and the people's economy based on resources, we should raise the banner of developing a socialist economy in a consistent manner and deal a blow to those bent on the misjudgment that they can bring us to our knees with sanctions," he said.

"Self-reliance and an independent economy for the people are the basis of our own type of a socialism and a permanent lifeline that will determine the fate of our revolution," he added.

According to the KCNA report, Kim mentioned "self-reliance" 27 times during the meeting.

Experts see this as intended to brace the country for a protracted tug-of-war in nuclear talks with the U.S. following the breakdown of the summit in Hanoi by focusing on economic development.

Kim mentioned his second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in late February in Hanoi but steered clear of criticism directly pointed at Washington or his country's nuclear program.

The Hanoi summit fell apart as Kim and Trump failed to find common ground over how to match Pyongyang's denuclearization steps with Washington's sanctions relief.

Pyongyang wanted major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear facility. But Washington insisted on what officials described as "a big deal" that called for trading sanctions relief for the dismantlement of all of the North's nuclear and other weapons programs.

Kim's push for self-reliance and fight against sanctions comes as South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump are set to meet Thursday (local time) in Washington to coordinate their approach toward North Korea's nuclear issue.

Moon has hoped to play a role in bridging the gap in the demands from Pyongyang and Washington, and help get the stalled nuclear talks started again.

South Korean officials have recently talked increasingly about "a good enough deal" and a need for an "early harvest," expressing hopes that the U.S. will soften its position on a "big deal" and meet the North halfway.

In the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he would like to leave "a little room" in the sanctions regime against North Korea in the case of "substantial process" in its denuclearization.

This can been seen as a signal for some flexibility in Washington's future negotiations with Pyongyang on its nuclear weapons program.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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