North Korea denuclearisation in a year not likely: U.S. intelligence chief

 

FILE PHOTO - U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats and White House Social Media Director Dan Scavino (rear) listen during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 18, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

 

(Reuters) - U.S. Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Thursday it was technically possible for North Korea to eliminate its nuclear weapons programme within a year, but added that it was not likely to happen.

 

Asked at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado about White House national security adviser John Bolton's statement that North Korea could denuclearize in a year, Coats said: "It's technically possible but probably not going to happen."

 

"It's a much more complicated process than most people think," Coats told the forum. He added that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had "clearly said this is hard, this is going to take some time" and projected a "longer time frame."

 

There has been no sign of concrete action toward denuclearisation by Pyongyang since U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held a summit in Singapore on June 12. Pompeo visited Pyongyang in early July and the two sides struggled to make headway on the denuclearisation issue.

 

Trump on Tuesday told reporters there was "no rush" and "no time limit" on denuclearisation negotiations with North Korea.

Coats said on Thursday that Kim had made a commitment to denuclearize and that he and other senior officials had continued to reassert that commitment.

 

"I don't think we should go forward with the assumption that all this is going to work," Coats said. "But having the opportunity to try to succeed here instead potentially going to war with a potentially nuclear-armed nation and what we have evaluated as a somewhat unstable leader, why not give it a shot?"

 

Coats said it was not a matter of trusting the North Koreans but of ensuring proper verification mechanisms were in place.

"We know, and we have the capability to know, what they're doing, and we're going to make sure we do it right," he said.

 

The U.S. intelligence chief said sanctions against North Korea were still broadly holding, supported by China, Russia and other nations, dramatically driving down Pyongyang's exports and forcing Kim to consider "a potential collapse of his economy if he can't do something moving forward with this."

 

While acknowledging there had been some ship-to-ship transfers of energy supplies despite the embargo, Coats said it had not been so significant as to prevent North Korean leaders from seeing the "consequences of sanctions."

 

(Reporting by David Alexander in Washington; editing by Mary Milliken and Bill Berkrot)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-07-20

1 minute ago, webfact said:

North Korea denuclearisation in a year not likely: U.S. intelligence chief

 

Ya think?

 

I like and respect Dan Coats, but his assessment is not exactly a "bombshell".

 

2 minutes ago, webfact said:

There has been no sign of concrete action toward denuclearisation by Pyongyang

 

Based on satellite images, there seems to be a lot of "concrete action" with the DPRK rapidly building new structures to house their atomic ambitions.

 

 

https://www.38north.org/tag/satellite-imagery/

 

But...but... Kim Jong Un promised Donald Trump!! I believe the both of them! They would never lie!

Not in 1 year, or 2, or 5, or 10, or 20, or 40,...............

Let's all hope that won't affect tRump's "Mission Accomplished" celebration party.

I foresee announcement during 2020 election cycle from N Korea that they are dismantling whatever, lessening arsenal etc. Seems they would want to back Trump, he's a fella they can work, er, work with. Empty gestures are his stock in trade

North Korea has been playing this game for decades.

 

https://www.wired.com/story/north-korea-summit-denuclearize-history/

Anyone could have made the same prediction and been 100 percent certain of being right. But still it is good to hear the truth from such a credible source. Given we have a "president" with ZERO credibility, every little bit of reality speaking helps. 

No way!!

But Trump promised us that NK was 'no longer a nuclear threat'. If I can't believe Trump then I just don't know what I'm going to do.

The   nuclear  device  was  easy. It will take  more than a year  to  get the  directional  equipment  accurate ! ?

Duhhh Donald what a dumb ass 

As they race to build more complex bombs, and military exercises are cancelled indefinitely.  Sweet negotiations 

"Intelligence officials are growing concerned that Mr. Trump cherry-picks their findings to reinforce decisions he has already made, several administration officials said in interviews. They noted that in the case of North Korea, he picked up on evidence last summer of growing nuclear capabilities to bolster his threats of military action; now that he is pursuing a thaw in relations with North Korea, he is ignoring similar evidence."

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/us/politics/trump-national-security-russia.html

It's going to be nonstop concern as long as that mentally bizarre clown is in office. Kim is a threat. So is "trump."

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I'm a little bit disappointed that his fans are no longer pushing for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In private, Trump vents frustration over lack of progress on North Korea

 

When he emerged from his summit with Kim Jong Un last month, President Trump tri­umphantly declared that North Korea no longer posed a nuclear threat and that one of the world’s most intractable geopolitical crises had been “largely solved.”

But in the days and weeks since then, U.S. negotiators have faced stiff resistance from a North Korean team practiced in the art of delay and obfuscation.

Diplomats say the North Koreans have canceled follow-up meetings, demanded more money and failed to maintain basic communications, even as the once-isolated regime’s engagements with China and South Korea flourish.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/in-private-trump-vents-his-frustration-over-lack-of-progress-on-north-korea/2018/07/21/f6adef88-da7d-403e-9ec8-47d7876fa1de_story.html?utm_term=.f5c27aab4767

Why would Kim so easily give up his Nuclear status? This is Trumps assertion to make himself look like a successful negotiator, to reinforce his wannabe status as the "art of the deal" man. Kim was triumphant at the summit, Trump was the looser. Trumps success rate at summits is proving to be quite dismal, to wit, allowing  Comrade Putin to dictate to him.

Two things were achieved at the Singapore Summit. 1) tensions were TEMPORARILY eased, talk of "fire and fury" have ceased FOR NOW; 2) Trump was made to look even more like the incapable leader that he is.

The crisis on the Korean Peninsula is far from over.

On 7/20/2018 at 1:53 PM, Jingthing said:

Anyone could have made the same prediction and been 100 percent certain of being right. But still it is good to hear the truth from such a credible source. Given we have a "president" with ZERO credibility, every little bit of reality speaking helps. 

 

I was going to say, it's a bit refreshing to hear anyone in the Trump Admin. come out and actually tell the truth on something, even if in this telling Coats is publicly giving NK the benefit of the doubt a bit.

 

But give Trump more time in office or free him from the Russia investigation, and we'll all quickly discover that truth-telling in the Trump Admin. will have been found to have gone extinct for sure.

 

For example, hey Liar in Chief, how about those Korean War servicemen remains you told the world more than a month ago had already happened?  Still haven't happened yet, none of them.

 

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2018/07/19/breaking-news/north-korea-hasnt-met-its-promise-to-return-u-s-war-remains/