North Korea has warned the United States about using “pressure and military threats” against it as the two countries prepare for a historic summit.

A Foreign Ministry official said the US was deliberately provoking the North by suggesting sanctions will not be lifted until it gives up nuclear weapons. US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are due to meet in the next few weeks.

It will be the first ever meeting between the two countries’ leaders. The North Korean official, quoted by state news agency KCNA, said that Washington was “misleading public opinion” by saying the denuclearisation pledge resulted from sanctions and other pressure.

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The US was also aggravating the current good atmosphere by deploying military assets on the Korean peninsula, they added. “The US is deliberately provoking (North Korea) at the time when the situation on the Korean peninsula is moving toward peace and reconciliation thanks to the historic north-south summit and the Panmunjom Declaration,” the statement said.

“This act cannot be construed otherwise than a dangerous attempt to ruin the hard-won atmosphere of dialogue and bring the situation back to square one. “It would not be conducive to addressing the issue if the US miscalculates the peace-loving intention of (North Korea) as a sign of ‘weakness’ and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats against the latter.”