North Korea offers nuclear weapons deal
Kim wants a formal end to the Korean War, the U.S. to vow not to attack him
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told his South Korean counterpart at their historic summit that he would be willing to give up his nuclear weapons if the U.S. commits to a formal end to the Korean War and a pledge not to attack the North, Seoul officials said Sunday.
Kim also vowed during his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday to shut the North’s nuclear test site in May and disclose the process to experts and journalists from South Korea and the United States, Seoul’s presidential office said.
While there are lingering questions about whether North Korea will ever decide to fully relinquish its nukes as it heads into negotiations with the U.S., Kim’s comments amount to the North’s most
specific acknowledgement yet that “denuclearization” would constitute surrendering its weapons.
U.S. national security adviser John Bolton, asked whether the U.S. would make such a promise, said: “Well, we’ve heard this before. The North Korean propaganda playbook is an infinitely rich resource.”
Seoul officials, who have shuttled between Pyongyang and Washington to broker talks between Kim and President Donald Trump, expected in May or June, said Kim has expressed genuine interest in dealing away his nuclear weapons.
But there has been skepticism because North Korea has for decades pushed a concept of “denuclearization” that bears no resemblance to the American definition. The North has long vowed to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its 28,500 troops from South Korea and the nuclear umbrella defending South Korea and Japan.
During their summit at a truce village on the border, Moon and Kim promised to work toward the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula but made no references to verification or timetables.
Kim also expressed optimism about his meeting with Trump, Moon’s spokesman Yoon Young-chan said.
“Once we start talking, the United States will know that I am not a person to launch nuclear weapons at South Korea, the Pacific or the United States,” Kim said, according to Yoon.
Yoon also quoted Kim as saying: “If we maintain frequent meetings and build trust with the United States and receive promises for an end to the war and a non-aggression treaty, then why would we need to live in difficulty by keeping our nuclear weapons?”
The Korean Peninsula is technically in a state of war since the 195053 Korean War was halted with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Closing the nuclear test site would be a dramatic but likely symbolic event to set up Kim’s summit with Trump. North Korea announced this month that it has suspended all tests of nuclear devices and intercontinental ballistic missiles and plans to close its nuclear testing ground.
Still, Adam Mount, a senior defense analyst at the Federation of American Scientists, said Kim’s comments were significant because they are his most explicit acknowledgement yet that denuclearization means surrendering his nuclear weapons.
“Questions remain about whether Kim will agree to discuss other nuclear technology, fissile material and missiles. However, they imply a phased process with reciprocal concessions,” Mount said. “It is not clear that the Trump administration will accept that kind of protracted program.”
Analysts reacted with skepticism to Kim’s previously announced plan to close the test site at Punggye-ri, saying the northernmost tunnel had already become too unstable to use for underground detonations, following the country’s sixth and most powerful test blast in September.
In his conversation with Moon, Kim denied that he would be merely clearing out damaged goods, saying the site also has two new tunnels that are larger than previous testing facilities, Yoon said.
Some analysts see Moon’s agreement with Kim at the summit as a disappointment, citing the lack of references to verification and timeframes and also the absence of a definition on what would constitute a “complete” denuclearization of the peninsula.
But Patrick McEachern, a former State Department analyst, said it was meaningful that Moon extracted a commitment from Kim to complete denuclearization, which marked a significant change from Kim’s previous public demand to expand his arsenal of nuclear weapons in number and quality.
Yoon said Kim also revealed plans to sync its time zone with South Korea’s. The Koreas used the same time zone for decades before the North created “Pyongyang Time” in 2015, setting the clock 30 minutes behind South Korea and Japan.
Yoon said the North’s decision to return to Seoul’s time zone was aimed at facilitating communication with South Korea and the U.S.