U.S. warns N.Korea must take 'irreversible' steps to denuclearize

By Jonathan Landay

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea, April 27, 2018. Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that he told Kim Jong Un that the North Korea leader would have to agree to take "irreversible" steps toward shutting its nuclear weapons program in any deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.

 

"We use the word 'irreversible' with great intention," Pompeo told ABC News. "We are going to require those steps that demonstrate that denuclearization is going to be achieved."

 

Pompeo's comments were the most extensive yet regarding his Easter weekend talks in Pyongyang with Kim in preparation for a summit next month between the North Korean leader and Trump.

 

Pompeo, the former CIA director who was sworn in as the top U.S. diplomat on Thursday, said his meeting with Kim was "a productive one" and that he left Pyongyang convinced there is "a real opportunity" for the North Korean leader and Trump to strike a deal.

 

Kim expressed his readiness to discuss Trump's demand "and to lay out a map that will help us achieve that objective," Pompeo said.

 

His assessment likely will add to hopes for a breakthrough that brings peace to the divided Korean peninsula following an historic summit last week between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at which the pair vowed "complete denuclearization."

 

And while Pyongyang says it will close its nuclear test site next month, Kim and Moon did not outline concrete measures to be taken to achieve that goal of denuclearization.

 

Pompeo made clear that Trump will be seeking Kim's commitment to such steps, and added that the United States will also take matching actions, without providing details.

 

Trump's new national security adviser John Bolton said in an interview with CBS News, also aired Sunday, that Kim may have "concrete and tangible" ideas about giving up his nuclear arms program "and we should hear him out."

 

But he and Pompeo cautioned that North Korea has a history of reneging on its commitments. Bolton said that a recent absence of weapons and missile tests by North Korea "could be a very positive sign" or a sign that the programs have reached advanced stages and testing is no longer needed.

 

Pompeo said that the United States also will have to match North Korea's actions, although he provided no details.

 

"Both countries will have to do more than words," said Pompeo. He repeated that Trump will maintain a "pressure campaign" of harsh sanctions on impoverished North Korea until Kim shutters his nuclear weapons program.

 

Pompeo said that at Trump's direction, he spoke with Kim about the release of three U.S. citizens detained by North Korea. He did not elaborate on the outcome of that discussion.

 

North Korea "should look at this very seriously," Bolton said about releasing the trio before the Trump-Kim meeting. They are "very much on the president's mind" and freeing them would be a "demonstration of their (North Korea's) sincerity," he said.

 

Pyongyang is holding two Korean-American academics and a Christian missionary, as well as a Canadian pastor and three South Korean nationals who were doing missionary work. Japan says at least several dozen of its nationals are being held in the country.

Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American student, died in June 2017, days after he was released, in a coma, after 17 months of captivity.

 

Republican and Democratic lawmakers credited Trump's strategy for Kim's readiness to negotiate. But they also cautioned that the initiative could collapse, and the United States find itself in a conflict with North Korea.

 

“We're very close to historic peace, but we also are very close to war," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Fox News Sunday. "Because if they play Trump, if Kim Jong Un meets with President Trump and goes back to his old way of doing business, we're on a path to war."

 

Republican Senator James Lankford, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, criticized Trump for calling Kim "very honorable" on Twitter last week.

 

"I would never use the word honorable to describe Kim Jong Un," Lankford said on CNN.

 

Kim "is a ruthless dictator that does public executions of anyone who . . . disagrees with him. He has literally starved his own people to help the elite," said Lankford.

 

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Susan Cornwell; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Lisa Shumaker)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-04-30

This summit is going to be fascinating. I believe that Kim will never get rid of his nukes. It is the only deterrent he has. When they sit down at the table, he will probably say, I will get rid of all of my nukes, if you, and China, and Russia, and India, and France, and the UK, and Israel do the same. Then we will have parity. Trump will more than likely storm out of the meeting, at that point, and start tweeting like the adolescent he is. He is not a diplomat. He does not have a diplomatic bone in his body. His M.O. is hatred, bellicosity, and anger. That is really all he has.

 

Tiny Don. Not making America great again. The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. The art of how to lose 17 out of 19 marketing deals since becoming president, due to his ugly persona.

The USA invaded Korea  & Vietnam in the fifties and sixties resulting in the slaughter of  millions of innocent civilians. Why should NK give up its nukes??  Will the USA give up theirs?

 

Who's watching the USA  and who trusts them ?????

1 hour ago, lanista said:

The USA invaded Korea  & Vietnam in the fifties and sixties resulting in the slaughter of  millions of innocent civilians.

Putting Vietnam aside (that's a quite different historical issue), do you know anything at all about the Korean War?!!!

1 hour ago, spidermike007 said:

This summit is going to be fascinating. I believe that Kim will never get rid of his nukes. It is the only deterrent he has. When they sit down at the table, he will probably say, I will get rid of all of my nukes, if you, and China, and Russia, and India, and France, and the UK, and Israel do the same. Then we will have parity. Trump will more than likely storm out of the meeting, at that point, and start tweeting like the adolescent he is. He is not a diplomat. He does not have a diplomatic bone in his body. His M.O. is hatred, bellicosity, and anger. That is really all he has.

 

Tiny Don. Not making America great again. The art of I cannot make a deal to save my life. The art of how to lose 17 out of 19 marketing deals since becoming president, due to his ugly persona.

 

Diplomacy is not what is called for in this particular negotiation. Do you think the guy who executed his uncle with anti-aircraft guns, starves his people, is a major illicit drug producer and counterfeiter and maintains inhuman gulags is going to be swayed by blowing smoke up his ass?

 

Sure he looks all cherubic this month during his Asian tour, but nothing's really changed yet.

Edited April 30, 20188 yr by lannarebirth

1 hour ago, lanista said:

The USA invaded Korea  & Vietnam in the fifties and sixties resulting in the slaughter of  millions of innocent civilians. Why should NK give up its nukes??  Will the USA give up theirs?

 

Who's watching the USA  and who trusts them ?????

My thought there . What if Kim said " I will give up my nukes when you give up yours Trump ".

Meanwhile listen how South Korean adviser Chung-in Moon talks about KJU and the meeting that took place between the two countries. 

 

That's how humane and hopeful politics sounds like. 

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2018/04/27/amanpour-moon-korea-summit.cnn

 

Washington, for once, just once, can you just shut up and stay away from this ?

Let the Koreans sort out their own peace deal. There's a conspiracy theory that's going around. With this theory, you, Washington, you actually want the aggro in Korea to continue. You want the defence contracters to carry on making money, by selling arms to South Korea. If peace breaks out in Korea, then, the American defence contracters stand to lose massive contracts to sell weapons to South Korea.

Washington, do please stop making it look like that the conspiracy theories might be true. Thanks.

8 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Diplomacy is not what is called for in this particular negotiation. Do you think the guy who executed his uncle with anti-aircraft guns, starves his people, is a major illicit drug producer and counterfeiter and maintains inhuman gulags is going to be swayed by blowing smoke up his ass?

 

Sure he looks all cherubic this month during his Asian tour, but nothing's really changed yet.

I understand that Kim is a phony and a beast. But, other than sanctions and diplomacy, what other options are there? A first strike, or an invasion, is simply NOT an option. The US has gotten itself into alot of costly and prolonged wars in the past two decades. Does it need another one? Bombing would be the only offensive action, and that would not result in getting rid of Kim or the nukes. It would succeed in killing massive amounts of civilians, and could start a 30 year war costing tens of trillions of dollars. The result? A bankrupted US. Trump is enough of a fool to do just that. After all, he has already bankrupted five companies. Why not the US too?

10 hours ago, toofarnorth said:

My thought there . What if Kim said " I will give up my nukes when you give up yours Trump ".

Then Trump would say the USA will give up ten if you give up ten. Tit for Tat, even stevens, we will match you giving them up or using them, up to you Kim.

11 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Diplomacy is not what is called for in this particular negotiation. Do you think the guy who executed his uncle with anti-aircraft guns, starves his people, is a major illicit drug producer and counterfeiter and maintains inhuman gulags is going to be swayed by blowing smoke up his ass?

 

Sure he looks all cherubic this month during his Asian tour, but nothing's really changed yet.

He is just playing chess with trump and trump is losing. Nothing will change except for trump having a terrible fit.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

I understand that Kim is a phony and a beast. But, other than sanctions and diplomacy, what other options are there? A first strike, or an invasion, is simply NOT an option. The US has gotten itself into alot of costly and prolonged wars in the past two decades. Does it need another one? Bombing would be the only offensive action, and that would not result in getting rid of Kim or the nukes. It would succeed in killing massive amounts of civilians, and could start a 30 year war costing tens of trillions of dollars. The result? A bankrupted US. Trump is enough of a fool to do just that. After all, he has already bankrupted five companies. Why not the US too?

I don't think we're going to be bombing him or going to war.  In fact I'm pleased he's gone on record publicly with all the changes he is going to be making. Haven't heard anything about him disarming yet though. I agree sanctions are working and when countries break them as China will if things don't move rapidly I'd sanction them too.