Long way to go on North Korea crisis: Trump
South Korea preparation for North summit in full swing: Officials
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the North Korean nuclear crisis is far from conclusion on Sunday, striking a cautious note a day after the North’s pledge to end its nuclear tests raised hopes before planned summits with South Korea and the United States.
“We are a long way from conclusion on North Korea, maybe things will work out, and maybe they won’t - only time will tell. But the work I am doing now should have been done a long time ago!” Trump said on Twitter.
Trump, who in an earlier tweet on Sunday called North Korea’s statement a pledge to denuclearise: “Wow, we haven’t given up anything & they have agreed to denuclearization (so great for World), site closure, & no more testing!”
South Korea’s preparations for its first summit with North Korea in more than a decade are in full swing this week, officials said on Sunday.
“North Korea has a long history of raising the issue of denuclearisation and has committed to freeze its nuclear weapons programmes in the past. We all remember how those pledges and commitments went down over past decades,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University in Seoul.
“Although the North’s announcement is quite dramatic, it’s natural for the world to be extra sensitive to every word spoken by Kim.”
Moon, who welcomed Kim’s announcement as a “major” step toward denuclearisation, is making the summit his sole focus this week, staying in the presidential Blue House to prepare with no outside engagements, a Blue House official said on Sunday.
South Korea’s presidential security service met officials from the military as well as the UN Command on Saturday to discuss security at the border truce village of Panmunjom, where the inter-korean summit will take place, the official said.
A senior US diplomat for East Asia, Susan Thornton, called North Korea’s latest announcement ‘a very positive step” as she started a three-day visit to Seoul on Sunday, which will include meetings with South Korea’s foreign minister as well as its top nuclear negotiator.
“We are going to be doing a lot of close coordination with South Korea, allies and partners this week,” the Yonhap news agency quoted her as saying.
Experts also say that North Korea’s offer not to test or transfer nuclear weapons appeared a statement of an aim to be a “responsible” nuclear weapons state, rather than an intention to denuclearise.
Cheong Seong-chang, senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute think-tank, said a firm commitment to denuclearise could not be expected before negotiations with the United States began.
“Kim cannot give up everything at once. What is clear is that he is showing his earnest willingness to pave the way for smooth negotiations,” Cheong said.