North Korea ‘willing to scrap nukes’

North Korea is willing to denuclearise and the US is prepared to end hostile relations, South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday as he struck an upbeat tone ahead of his third meeting with Kim Jongun next week.

The summit will be the third between the leaders of North and South Korea this year and comes as talks between Washington and Pyongyang over dismantling the North’s nuclear arsenal have stalled.

Moon conceded that there was a “blockage” and both sides needed to compromise to make progress on the controversial subject.

“North Korea is willing to denuclearise and therefore willing to discard existing nuclear weapons and the US is willing to end hostile relations with the North and provide security guarantees,” Moon said.

“But there is a blockage as [each side demands that the] other act first and I think they will be able to find a point of compromise.”

Moon, who helped broker the June summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump, and has called for a follow-up meeting between the two sides, said South Korea would help mediate contacts between Washington and Pyongyang to speed up the denuclearisation process.

Trump and Kim pledged in Singapore to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

However, no details were agreed, and Washington and Pyongyang have sparred since over what that means and how it will be achieved. –