President stalls on 12-month limit for Kim to scrap weapons

DONALD TRUMP has backtracked on plans to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons within a year, announcing that there is now “no time limit” on the denuclearisation of Kim Jong-un’s regime.

Speaking to reporters during a meeting with members of Congress at the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump said: “We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. We’re just going through the process.”

The US president’s comments appear to mark a departure from demands he made of Kim during their summit in Singapore in June, during which the North Korean leader agreed to work towards the “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula in return for Washington guaranteeing the security of his regime.

As recently as July 1, John Bolton, the national security adviser, had stated that the US was working to a one-year timetable. Speaking on CBS’S Face the Nation shortly before Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, flew to Pyongyang for the most recent round of discussions on the issue, Mr Bolton said: “If they have the strategic decision already made to do that, and they are cooperative, we can move very quickly. And it is to North Korea’s advantage to dismantle very quickly.”

However, Mr Pompeo’s talks in Pyongyang do not appear to have significantly advanced the discussions. A foreign ministry official quoted in staterun media described the US attitude in the talks as “extremely troubling”.

There is also likely to be disappointment in Washington after North Korea agreed to return the remains of only 55 American servicemen killed in the Korean War. Reports had suggested a figure of 200.

Mr Trump said yesterday on Twitter: “Russia has agreed to help with North Korea, where relationships with us are very good and the process is moving along.

“There is no rush, the sanctions remain! Big benefits and exciting future for North Korea at end of process!”