With the date and location of the first ever summit between the leaders of the United States and North Korea about to be announced, the two sides are jostling to make their positions on key issues clear and both governments are suggesting that they could walk away from the best opportunity for a diplomatic breakthrough on the Korean Peninsula for more than 60 years. An official of the North Korean foreign ministry on Sunday demanded that Washington drop its threats to use military force and economic pressure to force Pyongyang to the negotiating table, saying ultimatums will not force the North to give up its nuclear weapons or halt its missile programs. Quoted by the Korean Central News Agency, the unnamed official said, “It would not be conducive to addressing the issue if the US miscalculates the peace-loving intention of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) as a sign of ‘weakness’ and continues to pursue its pressure and military threats.” Read more: South Korea: North committed to ‘complete denuclearization’ of peninsula North Korea synchronizes time zone with South Swipe at Washington The swipe at Washington was the first for several weeks and came nine days after Kim Jong Un…