Eyes open on N. Korea nuke plans, Bolton says
WASHINGTON — The U.S. isn’t being naive in taking North Korea at its word on denuclearization, national security adviser John Bolton said Sunday.
“There’s no one in this administration starry-eyed about” the idea that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s regime will rid itself of nuclear weapons capability, Bolton said on Fox News Sunday. Still, the time may well come when Trump concludes that Kim isn’t acting in good faith, he said.
Trump is giving a “master class” in how to hold the door open to Pyongyang, Bolton said. If Kim can’t figure how to walk through it, “even the president’s fiercest critics won’t be able to say he didn’t open it wide enough.”
Bolton’s comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s warning on Saturday that other nations must not ease sanctions on North Korea until that country gives up its nuclear weapons. Pompeo called out Russia and China for violating United Nations Security Council resolutions restricting trade with North Korea.
In response, North Korea accused the U.S. of demanding too much without
offering anything in return. “Advancing unilateral demands will further deepen mistrust instead of reviving trust,” North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said in a statement.
Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June, saying after that the country “is no longer a nuclear threat.”
Since then, the White House has sought to show that North Korea is moving toward giving up its nuclear weapons despite news reports to the contrary. The mixed messages have undermined U.S. attempts to pressure North Korea, which hasn’t committed to a schedule for giving up its weapons.
Meanwhile, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s brief conversation with Ri on Friday in Singapore marked the first contact between the two ministers since the Washington-Pyongyang summit meeting in June.
Attention is focused on whether such interactions will help Prime Minister Shinzo Abe realize direct talks with Kim.
When asked by reporters Friday night about what he discussed with Ri, Kono declined to provide details, repeatedly saying, “I have no intention of talking about that.”
After the U.S.-North Korea summit, the Japanese Foreign Ministry contacted Pyongyang through diplomatic channels, including embassies in Beijing, and proposed talks between Kono and Ri, according to a source knowledgeable about Japan-North Korea relations. However, the ministry did not receive a positive response from North Korea.
On Friday during a banquet for delegates to Association of Southeast Asian Nations-related meetings of foreign ministers, Kono approached and spoke to Ri. They remained standing as they talked briefly.
In approaching Ri, Kono sought to create an environment conducive to holding
summit talks between Abe and Kim.
Abe has expressed a willingness to engage in dialogue with Pyongyang, saying: “I won’t overlook such a chance.”
A Japan-North Korea summit would be the first such meeting since 2004, when Junichiro Koizumi was Japan’s prime minister.
Some officials in Tokyo suggested talks might be held during the Sept. 11-13 Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian city of Vladivostok, which Kim might attend.
However, it remains to be seen whether progress will be made on the issue of Pyongyang’s abduction of Japanese nationals.
U.S.-North Korea talks on denuclearization are thought to have stalled. A senior Japanese Foreign Ministry official said, “An environment in which Tokyo-Pyongyang [talks] can take place cannot be achieved if Washington-Pyongyang [talks] do not progress.”
North Korea has not changed its stance that the abduction issue has been resolved. The near-daily criticism of Japan by North Korean state media is also a matter of concern.
Abe has declared the abduction issue to be the most pressing matter facing his Cabinet. Action on the issue that does not yield results could shake the foundation of his administration.
“There is no need [for Abe] to push himself hard before the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election,” said a former minister close to Abe. Voting and ballot counting for the Liberal Democratic Party poll are expected to take place on Sept. 20.