USA TODAY International Edition
Key hurdles remain in peace talks with N. Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are scheduled to meet Friday in a conference that will set the stage for an even more high-stakes summit expected between President Trump and Kim in the coming weeks.
All sides are engaged in pre-summit posturing.
Kim said over the weekend that he would suspend testing of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Trump praised the move in a tweet Sunday and South Korea on Monday suspended the broadcasting of K-pop music and propaganda messages they had been blasting from the Demilitarized Zone toward the North for years.
The gestures have eased tensions between North Korea and the West, but issues remain unresolved.
Here are the key obstacles:
Denuclearization
This is the most important issue — and the most contentious. Washington insists North Korea must give up its nuclear arsenal, which is capable of hitting U.S. cities. Kim sees his nuclear weapons program as integral to his regime’s survival.
Potential compromises include an agreement by the North to freeze and reduce its arsenal over time, though it is unlikely Washington would agree to anything that limited.
Nuclear testing
Kim’s announcement that he would suspend testing and give up a nuclear weapons site drew praise from Trump.
Analysts disagree over how advanced Kim’s nuclear program is, but most conclude that he has made significant progress and can afford to pause testing now that he can reach U.S. cities with nuclear weapons. Kim has achieved what he considers a “plateau” in nuclear weapons capabilities, said Robert Einhorn, an analyst at the Brookings Institution.
US. troops
The United States has about 28,000 troops based in South Korea, a presence that dates to the Korean War seven decades ago. Their presence, along with regular joint exercises between U.S. and South Korean forces, has long been an irritant to the North.
Moon said Kim dropped his demand that all U.S. troops withdraw from South Korea as a condition for denuclearization. Still, would Kim angle for a reduction in U.S. forces? It would be a controversial move in South Korea, where many view the presence of U.S. troops as an important bulwark against aggression from the North, and in the USA.
Sanctions
Economic sanctions have hurt North Korea’s economy, and Kim has long sought a way out from under their effects. Washington would not want to recommend removing sanctions without significant concessions. Analysts are not sure how much leverage sanctions represent. The Trump administration argued that sanctions drive Kim to negotiate, but “we don’t really know for sure,” said Bruce Bennett, an analyst at RAND Corp.