North Korea disputes Trump and says it only wanted ‘partial’ lifting of sanctions in exchange for nuclear dismantlement

US national security advisor John Bolton accused of ‘moving the goalposts’

North Korea has disputed Donald Trump’s explanation for the breakdown of talks in Hanoi, saying it only wanted a partial lifting of sanctions in exchange for the dismantlement of its main nuclear facility.

A day after the US president left Vietnam empty-handed, having claimed Pyongyang had demanded the lifting of all US and international sanctions in exchange for moving forward, North Korea hit back with its own version of events.

Foreign minister Ri Yong Ho told an impromptu news conference at the Hanoi hotel that North Korea’s offer had been entirely “reasonable”. He said Pyongyang has been prepared to begin the dismantling of the main nuclear facility in Yongbyon, if there was a partial lifting of sanctions.

He said the US had insisted the North go “one more” step beyond the dismantlement of its main nuclear facility, and that as a result the talks broke down. He added that North Korea’s position would not change even if the US sought further talks, the Sonhap news agency reported.

Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s vice minister of foreign affairs and a senior diplomat, added: “I cannot guarantee that this opportunity will be offered to the US once more.”

The battle to control the narrative of what happened in Vietnam is hardly surprising given that both sides were hoping to reach some sort of agreement, however modest.

A day after last June’s first summit in Singapore, North Korean state media claimed the US had agreed to the lifting of sanctions – something that had not been signed off on. Three weeks later, it accused Washington of “mobster like” behaviour.

In his own press conference, Mr Trump claimed Mr Kim had asked for the lifting of all sanctions, something the US was both not capable of doing – some sanctions against the North are UN sanctions – and unwilling to do, even if it could.

“Sometimes you have to walk,” said Mr Trump. “Basically they wanted the sanctions lifted in their entirety, and we couldn’t do that.”

He added: “He wants to denuke, he just wants to do areas that are less important than what we want. He has a certain vision and it’s not exactly our vision, but it’s a lot closer than it was a year ago and I think eventually we’ll get there. For this particular visit we decided that we had to walk.”

KCNA, Pyongyang’s state media outlet, later reported that the two leaders would continue to pursue “productive talks to discuss denuclearisation”, the Agence France-Press news agency reported.

Whichever version of events proves to be true, analysts said the talks had probably been doomed from the start. Many said for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons programme was a process that could take years to achieve, and would require major concessions and guarantees from the west.

Jon Wolfsthal, director of the Nuclear Crisis Group, an international task force of top former diplomats, said that while the breakdown in talks was a disappointment, “it must not be the end of efforts to negotiate an agreement with North Korea”, given that Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes continue to represented a major challenge to global security.

“Contrary to official statements issued in Hanoi, it appears President Trump – at the urging of national security advisor John Bolton – moved the goalposts and blew up the meeting with last minute demands North Korea was not prepared to accept,” he said in a statement.

“While it’s right to say you must be willing to walk away from a bad deal, the administration should not walk away from the negotiating process. Progress will take time.”

Kevin Martin, president of Peace Action, a Washington DC-based think tank, said “failure to reach an agreement should not be taken as a sign that diplomacy is not working”. He added: “Diplomacy has done far more to advance the security of the US and the Korean Peninsula than economic coercion and threats of military force. Diplomacy takes time and obviously much more work remains to be done.”

Anwita Basu, an analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, said: “The risk of a breakdown in talks between the US and North Korea, had always been high particularly because ... The two sides have not agreed on the definition of denuclearisation.”

Some analysts praised Mr Trump’s stance. Paul Haenle, director of the Beijing-based Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre, said: “The priority for the US and its allies should be on dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programme. The fact that President Trump did not make unnecessary concessions that undermine allies and partners as he did in Singapore can be viewed as a positive.”

The Associated Press said secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who was among the small group of top US officials present doing the talks, claimed negotiations with North Korea would resume quickly.

Talking to reporters as the president returned to Washington, he said his team would get back to work “tomorrow” although no new meetings have yet been scheduled. He claimed progress was made during the talks, although not enough to warrant signing an agreement.