Thread by @joshjonsmith

BREAKING: North Korea's foreign ministry has said Pyongyang will "never yield" to US demands, says to be considering breaking off denuclearisation talks, Russia's TASS news agency reports

Kim Jong Un is set to make an announcement soon on talks, senior North Korean diplomat Choe Son-hui told a briefing in Pyongyang, according to TASS

"We have no intention to yield to the US demands [put forward at the Hanoi summit] in any form, nor are we willing to engage in negotiations of this kind," she told reporters at a news conference in Pyongyang, to which foreign diplomats and journalists were invited.

More from AP: Senior North Korea official says U.S. threw away golden opportunity at Hanoi summit, warns Kim may rethink moratorium on missile launches

AP's report: North Korea has no intention of compromising or continuing talks unless the U.S. takes measures that are commensurate to the changes it has taken — such as the 15-month moratorium on launches and tests — and changes its “political calculation” apnews.com/5e747986f9204b…

In full TASS report, Choe says US came into Hanoi summit with "no sincere intention to achieve a result."
tass.com/world/1048754

Choe: US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and US National Security Adviser John Bolton "created the atmosphere of hostility and mistrust and, therefore, obstructed the constructive effort for negotiations between the supreme leaders of North Korea and the United States."

(Side note, TASS oddly says this is the first time a senior North Korean official has commented on the summit, when Choe herself along with FM Ri spoke to reporters in Hanoi)

AP's full report has more measured comments from Choe, including comments on Kim's view of Trump: "Personal relations between the two supreme leaders are still good and the chemistry is mysteriously wonderful.”

On the moratorium on missile and nuke tests: “Whether to maintain this moratorium or not is the decision of our chairman of the state affairs commission,” Choe said, using one of Kim Jong Un’s titles. “He will make his decision in a short period of time.”

AP says Choe's briefing lasted nearly an hour and journalists were not allowed to ask questions.

Separately in Beijing, Premier Li Keqiang urged patience and more dialogue between North Korea and the United States.
“The peninsula problem can be said to be complicated and long-standing, and it cannot be solved overnight,” Li said.

In South Korea, shares of companies exposed to North Korea plunged as much as 11% after Choe's comments that North Korea is reconsidering nuclear talks with the United States, while South Korean defense companies surged more than 25%.

South Korea's presidential Blue House: “It’s difficult to assess the current situation based on Choe Son Hui’s remarks alone. We are closely monitoring the situation. Under any circumstances, our government will make efforts for the resumption of North Korea-US talks.”

S.Korea's Ministry of Unification said that the weekly inter-Korean meeting scheduled for Friday at the Kaesong liaison office was canceled after the N.Koreans said they would not send senior officials. The ministry had not yet confirmed why the officials decided not to attend.