N. Korea sanctions stay: US
Trump-Kim summit likely after Oct
UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, (Agencies): US President Donald Trump praised North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un on Tuesday for his courage in taking steps to disarm, but said much work still had to be done and sanctions must remain in place on North Korea until it denuclearizes.
“The missiles and rockets are no longer flying in every direction, nuclear testing has stopped, some military facilities are already being dismantled,” Trump said in his speech to the annual United Nations General Assembly.
“I would like to thank Chairman Kim for his courage and for the steps he has taken, though much work remains to be done,” Trump said. “The sanctions will stay in place until denuclearization occurs.”
Remarks
Trump’s remarks on North Korea were dramatically different from those in his speech last year at the UN assembly, when he threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and mocked the North Korean leader as “Rocket Man” on a “suicide mission”.
Trump held an unprecedented summit with Kim in Singapore in June which yielded a broad pledge by Kim to “work towards” denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
However, Kim’s commitments and actions so far have fallen far short of Washington’s demands for a complete inventory of North Korea’s weapons programs and irreversible steps to give up a nuclear arsenal that threatens the United States.
Trump has nevertheless heaped personal praise on Kim and expressed enthusiasm for a second summit.
On Monday, he said he expected this to be announced “pretty soon” but that the location had yet to be determined.
During a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the United Nations on Monday, Trump said Kim has been “really very open and terrific, frankly.”
“I think he wants to see something happen.”
Trump singled out Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe, Moon and Chinese President Xi Jinping for their support over North Korea, in spite of some questions about the commitment of the latter two leaders to maintaining tough sanctions on Pyongyang.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday officials were laying the groundwork for the next summit between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, but any meeting would likely occur after October.
“We’re working diligently to make sure we get the conditions right so that we can accomplish as much as possible during the summit. But we hope it will be soon,” Pompeo said in an interview with “CBS This Morning.”
“It may happen in October but more likely sometime after that.”
Trump held an unprecedented summit with Kim in Singapore in June that yielded a broad pledge by Kim to “work toward” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Kim’s commitments and actions, however, have fallen far short of Washington’s demands for a complete inventory of North Korea’s weapons programs and irreversible steps to give up a nuclear arsenal that potentially threatens the United States.