North Korea needs more trust in the US and the developing relationship between the two countries before it will abandon its nuclear weapons, Pyongyang’s top diplomat said on Saturday.

'All the time in the world': Trump says no rush for North Korea to denuclearise Read more

More than three months after a summit in Singapore, North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong-ho told world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly Pyongyang does not see a “corresponding response” from Washington to its early disarmament moves. Instead, he said, the US is continuing sanctions aimed at keeping up pressure.

“The perception that sanctions can bring us on our knees is a pipe dream of the people who are ignorant of us,” Ri said, adding that continued sanctions are “deepening our mistrust” and deadlocking diplomacy.

“Without any trust in the US there will be no confidence in our national security and under such circumstances there is no way we will unilaterally disarm ourselves first,” Ri said, adding that the North’s commitment to disarming is “solid and firm” but that trust is crucial.

Washington is wary of easing sanctions or agreeing to another of the North’s priorities, a declaration ending the Korean war, without Pyongyang first making significant disarmament moves.

Ri’s comments come as Donald Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, are trying to regain momentum in their quest to get North Korea to renounce its nuclear ambitions. Pompeo is planning to visit Pyongyang next month to prepare for a second Kim-Trump summit.

Both Kim and Trump want to meet again. But there is widespread skepticism that Pyongyang is serious about renouncing an arsenal that the country likely sees as the only way to guarantee its safety.

Pompeo and Ri met on the sidelines of the general assembly on Wednesday for what Pompeo described as a “very positive” discussion. He did not give any details.

The North has traditionally said that the nuclear standoff is between it and the US, but recent summits between Kim and South Korean president Moon Jae-in have also dealt with the nuclear issue.

Nuclear envoys from the US and South Korea have met three times during this week’s UN meetings to talk about ways to end North Korea’s pursuit of an arsenal of nuclear-armed long-range missiles.