Ban says US pullout of Iran deal bad example for NK
By Kim Bo-eun
Ban Ki-moon
Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday the U.S. withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal does not serve as a good precedent for negotiating an agreement with North Korea.
The U.S. announced earlier this month it would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed with China, France, Russia, the U.K. and Germany in 2015. U.S. President Donald Trump took issue with the agreement signed under the Barack Obama administration, stating it left room for Iran to violate the terms.
This comes when Trump is set to have a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
“Now they're on the verge of making a very grand and big agreement between the U.S. and North Korean leaders,” Ban said in an interview with CNBC.
“I personally believe it has been given a very problematic message in terms of credibility, trust and confidence in the U.S. What kind of message will North Korea get from this?” he asked.
“Can I trust the U.S. president? This may be the first question by North Korea's leader.”
Ban also questioned Pyongyang's sincerity toward denuclearization, citing previous cases in the 1990s in which it broke its pledges.
Currently, a cloud is cast over the Trump-Kim summit, after the North took issue over the ongoing joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea. Pyongyang canceled high-level inter-Korean talks that were scheduled to take place on Wednesday, and threatened to do the same for the summit with Washington. Washington stated it would continue to prepare for the summit.