New North Korea, US meeting likely after New Year – Pence
Donald Trump and Kim Jongun will probably meet again after New Year, the US vicepresident said on Thursday, but insisted his government would not repeat past mistakes where “promises are broken”.
Trump and the North Korean leader held a historic summit in Singapore earlier in 2018, signing a vaguely worded deal on denuclearisation.
North Korea has taken some steps since then – forgoing nuclear and missile tests, dismantling a missile test site and promising to also break up the country’s main nuclear complex if the US makes concessions.
But progress has generally been slow, with the two countries sparring over the exact meaning of the agreement.
Trump has said he hopes to have a second meeting with Kim early next year, but talks between secretary of state Mike Pompeo and a top North Korean official planned for last week, partly to prepare for the meeting, were cancelled.
The US said the North had axed the talks because they were not ready, and Trump insisted he was in no rush.
Speaking in Singapore, US Vice-President Mike Pence insisted plans for the second meeting were still ongoing.
“We believe that the summit will likely occur after the first of the year, but the when and the where of that is still being worked out,” he said.
“We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of prior administrations – frankly both political parties have made them over the last several decades – where promises are made, sanctions are lifted and economic support comes and then promises are broken.”
His comments came after a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of a summit attended by world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Pence urged other countries at the meeting to keep up sanctions pressure on the North amid signs that Pyongyang’s traditional trading partners, China and Russia, have eased enforcement.
Seoul has also said it is mulling lifting its own measures against Pyongyang.
US officials insist on the complete, verified and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula before sanctions are lifted.
The North has rejected demands for what it calls “unilateral” disarmament, and has instead sought unspecified reciprocal US measures in a gradual process.
It has also called for sanctions to be eased as a reward for coming to the table, warning Washington’s stance is undermining confidence.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe piled on the pressure in a meeting with members of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, insisting that the sanctions should be fully enforced.