North Korea said it was 'deceived' by the US in 18 months of nuclear talks

• North Korea said it has been "deceived" by the United States in the last 18 months of broken down denuclearization talks.
• In a statement published Saturday, a top adviser wrote that despite the positive, personal relationship between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, it was moving on from the "wasted time" spent in negotiations.
• Once-historic nuclear negotiations between the countries have broken down in the last year and a half as North Korea has increasingly rejected Washington's hand in Pyongyang policy.
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North Korea said it was "deceived" by the United States and would be ending its openness to discussions after a year and a half of broken down denuclearization talks.

In a statement published by the state news agency KCNA, top Foreign Ministry official Kim Kye Gwan said that the rogue state was moving on from negotiations after "wasted time" in ultimately unsuccessful nuclear negotiations with the US.

"We have been deceived by the United States, being caught in the dialogue with it for over one year and a half, and that was the lost time for us," Gwan wrote in the statement.

The official also said that despite diplomatic acts like President Donald Trump's recent birthday greeting sent to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, the leaders' "personal" relationship is not enough to persuade the state at large to return to the table with the US.

"Although Chairman Kim Jong Un has a good personal feelings about President Trump, they are, in the true sense of the word, 'personal,'" Gwan wrote. "The Chairman of the State Affairs Commission would not discuss the state affairs on the basis of such personal feelings, as he represents our state and its interests."

"What is clear is that we will never lose our time again, being taken in by the US trick as in the past," Gwan added.

This is the latest in a turbulent 18 months of back-and-forth with the US after Kim said in a New Year's address that North Korea will "never" denuclearize if the US does not retreat from its "hostile policy."

The two country's relations seemed promising through two high-profile summits between Trump and Kim held in 2018 and 2019 before tension spawned at a February summit in Vietnam when the US denied the state eligibility for sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling a longtime nuclear site.

North Korea's cryptic promise of a "Christmas gift" in early December left South Korean and US officials on high alert throughout the holidays as some expected a long-range missile test, but no major advancement was detected.