N. Korea to halt nuke test if U.S. war games suspended: minister
"Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean Peninsula, then we should also cease our nuclear tests," he said in an interview with the Associated Press in New York.
Ri made the remarks amid signs that North Korea may be preparing for a fifth nuclear test ahead of the first congress in 36 years of the reclusive country's ruling party in early May. The annual large-scale military drills have been underway between the United States and South Korea since March 7.
This year's war games come after the U.N. Security Council endorsed March 2 tougher sanctions on the North for conducting a fourth nuclear test in January and launching a long-range rocket in February using banned ballistic missile technology.
If the exercises are halted "for some period, for some years," "new opportunities may arise for the two countries and for the whole entire world as well," Ri added.
Ri's comments came after North Korea fired Saturday what appears to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the Sea of Japan. He referred to the launch in the context of current tensions caused by the military exercises.
"The escalation of this military exercise level has reached its top level. And I think it's not bad -- as the other side is going for the climax -- why not us, too, to that level as well?" he said.
A South Korean military source said later in the day the projectile flew about 30 kilometers but that the launch itself was a failure.
Ri said sanctions will not sway the North.
"If they believe they can actually frustrate us with sanctions, they are totally mistaken," he said. "The more pressure you put on to something, the more emotionally you react to stand up against it. And this is important for the American policymakers to be aware of."
Ri was in New York to attend a high-level signing ceremony for the Paris Agreement on climate change on Friday, together with representatives from more than 170 other countries, including scores of heads of state and government.
Source: Kyodo