Vagaries of nuclear diplomacy
After his June 12 summit with Kim Jong Un, US President Donald Trump boasted that "there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea". However, recent evidence is at odds with that claim
EMPTY PROMISES AND INCONSISTENCIES
Kim's vague promise of denuclearistion — one made by North Korea numerous times in the past — led Trump to give Kim security assurances and announce the suspension of military drills with South Korea
US officials have said that North Korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile. They cited preparations to deceive the US about the number of its nuclear warheads and the existence of undisclosed facilities used to make fissile material for nukes
An analysis of recent satellite photos indicated North Korea is completing a major expansion of a factory in the northeast that produces key parts of nuclear-capable missiles
DECEPTION THROUGH GOODWILL GESTURES?
North Korea has shut down its main nuclear testing site and has released three US detainees. But experts say nothing it has done is consequential enough to be seen as a sign that the country is willing to fully surrender its nuclear weapons
CORRECTIVE MEASURES
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo will have to coax significant reciprocal steps from North Korea that would firmly lock the country into a process of disarmament. The state department expects that the disarmament steps will take six to 12 months