North Korea says US ruining mood of detente ahead of summit

PYONGYANG: North Korea has slammed the US for what it calls "misleading" claims Washington's policy of maximum political pressure and sanctions are what drove Pyongyang to the negotiating table.

The North's official news agency today quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman warning the claims are a "dangerous attempt" to ruin a budding detente after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's summit late last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

At the summit, the North agreed to seek denuclearisation of the peninsula.

The spokesman is quoted as saying: "The US is deliberately provoking the DPRK at the time when the situation on the Korean Peninsula is moving toward peace and reconciliation."

Kim and President Donald Trump are expected to meet later this month or in early June.