Kim vows no more nuclear, missile tests
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would halt nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, in an announcement yesterday welcomed by US President Donald Trump ahead of a much-anticipated summit between the two men. Pyongyang’s declaration, long sought by Washington, will be seen as a crucial step in the fast diplomatic dance on and around the Korean peninsula. It comes less than a week before the North Korean leader meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a summit in the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, ahead of the eagerly-awaited encounter with Trump himself.
Kuwait also welcomed North Korea’s decision to suspend its nuclear and ballistic activities. This positive step will contribute to building confidence, defusing tension - which the world has long suffered from, promoting security and stability and leading to denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, an official source at the Kuwaiti foreign ministry said. The Korean leaders are expected to agree on lasting peace in the Korean peninsula
when they meet on April 27, the source added. But Kim gave no indication Pyongyang might be willing to give up its nuclear weapons, or the missiles with which it can reach the mainland United States. The North had successfully developed its arsenal, including miniaturizing warheads to fit them on to missiles, Kim said, and so “no nuclear test and intermediate-range and inter-continental ballistic rocket test-fire are necessary for the DPRK now”. As such the North’s nuclear testing site was no longer needed, he told the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the official KCNA news agency.
The party decided that nuclear blasts and ICBM launches will cease as of yesterday - the North has not carried any out since November - and the atomic test site at Punggye-ri will be dismantled to “transparently guarantee” the end of testing. Within minutes of the report being issued, Trump tweeted: “This is very good news for North Korea and the World - big progress! Look forward to our Summit.” Seoul too welcomed the announcement, calling it “meaningful progress” towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
But Kim offered no sign he might be willing to give up what he called the North’s “treasured sword”, saying its possession of nuclear weapons was “the firm guarantee by which our descendants can enjoy the most dignified and happiest life in the world”. Pyongyang has made rapid technological progress in its weapons programs under Kim, which has seen it subjected to increasingly strict sanctions by the UN Security Council, the United States, the European Union, South Korea and others. Last year it carried out its sixth nuclear blast, by far its most powerful to date, while Kim and Trump traded threats of war and personal insults as tensions ramped up. Even when there was an extended pause in testing, US officials said that it could not be interpreted as a halt without an explicit statement from Pyongyang. South Korean envoys have previously cited Kim as promising no more tests, but Saturday’s news is the first such announcement directly by Pyongyang.
Analysts cautioned that the declaration was promising but limited. “Certainly this is a positive development,” said Daniel Pinkston of Troy University. “It’s a necessary but not sufficient step in North Korea returning to its past non-proliferation commitments.” And Christopher Green of the International Crisis Group added on Twitter: “I don’t see how North Korean statement constitutes a step toward denuclearisation. It is a moratorium on testing, but recommits North Korea to nuclear weapons status.”
Lassina Zerbo, executive secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, described North Korea’s announcement as “a strong signal and an important step in the right direction”. But he called for North Korea to sign up to the nuclear test ban treaty alongside the seven other countries who have still yet to do so: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the United States. Japan which has seen missiles fly over its territory - gave a mixed response, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offering a cautious welcome but his defense minister saying North Korea did not mention the short- or medium-range missiles that put Tokyo within reach.
Beijing said it believed the move would “help to promote the process of denuclearization and attempts to find a political settlement” on the peninsula. UN chief Antonio Guterres hailed Kim’s announcement as “a positive step forward” on the path towards denuclearization. The EU also welcomed it while Russia said it was “an important step towards the future easing of tensions” on the peninsula.