2LT International News

North Korea unveils plans, just as U.S. begins to shed hope

Sep 8, 2018

WASHINGTON, U.S. – Months after holding a historic meeting with the North Korean leader, the U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration were widely criticized for failing to get Kim Jong Un to deliver on the single vow of denuclearization, that he made during the meeting in June this year.

After a year of hostilities with the North Korean leader, Trump entrusted the newly appointed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to lead efforts to arrange a meeting between the U.S. and North Korea.

When the meeting eventually took place in June, critics pointed out that while the Singapore summit was high on optics, it managed to deliver very less on actual commitment.

North Korea vowed to denuclearize at the end of the June summit, while the U.S. offered certain concessions to ease Pyongyang’s path towards disarmament.

Subsequently Trump followed up by scrapping the traditional joint military exercises that the U.S. holds with South Korea. 

Yet, intelligence reports on North Korea revealed that the country had been pacing ahead with its nuclear development, despite vowing to give up nuclear arms. 

Since the meeting, Pompeo has travelled to North Korea on different occasions, to discuss the country’s plans to denuclearize – but officials from both the country have locked horns over changing demands. 

While U.S. officials have sought a detailed plan that North Korea will follow to denuclearize – Pyongyang is seeking relief from the crippling economy sanctions before making any moves to denuclearize. 

On Thursday, putting an end to the deadlocked talks, Kim Jong Un reportedly expressed that his faith in Trump remains “unchanged.”

During his meeting with envoys from Seoul, who visited Pyongyang to arrange another summit between the two Korean leaders – Kim Jong Un reportedly said that he wants to denuclearize the Korean peninsula during the U.S. President’s first term.

The North Korean leader further stressed that he was keen on putting an end to hostile relations with the U.S. before Trump’s first term ends in early 2021.

While there was no indication that Kim Jong Un had offered concrete steps toward giving up his nuclear arsenal, some U.S. officials have stated that they doubt he is willing to do so.

A day after meeting Kim Jong Un, the South Korean President Moon Jae In’s National Security Adviser, Chung Eui-yong said, “He particularly emphasized that he has never said anything negative about President Trump.”

He added that Kim Jong Un showed “frustration over the doubt raised by some parts of the international community about his willingness to denuclearize, and asked us to convey his message to the United States.”

Further pointing out, “He expressed his strong will to carry out more proactive measures toward denuclearization if action is taken in response to the North’s preemptive steps.”

The South Korean National Security Adviser also added confirmed that the third summit between the two Korean leaders will take place in Pyongyang on September 18-20. 

Eui-yong said that during the summit, the two Korean leaders will discuss “practical measures” toward denuclearization.

Following the high-level visit from Seoul, North Korea’s official KCNA news agency said that Kim Jong Un told the South’s envoys that his “fixed stand” was to turn the Korean peninsula into “a cradle of peace without nuclear weapons, free from nuclear threat.”

Meanwhile, following the North Korean leader’s statement, Trump welcomed his remarks and wrote on Twitter, “Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!”