Iran nuclear issue could affect N. Korea talks

By Kim Bo-eun

The possibility of the U.S. abandoning the Iran nuclear deal, a move supported by U.S. President Donald Trump as well as his newly appointed national security adviser John Bolton, could have implications for how Washington will address the Pyongyang nuclear issue.

A possible change in the U.S. stance on Iran is emerging as a downside risk for talks with North Korea ahead of the planned summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May.

The Iran nuclear deal, signed in July 2015, by Iran, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the EU, limits Tehran's uranium enrichment activities and allows IAEA access to its nuclear facilities, in return for relief from nuclear-related economic sanctions.

Trump has referred to the deal as “terrible,” and claimed Tehran violated parts of the agreement.

The U.S. president has set May 12 as a deadline to reach an agreement with the EU on changes to be addressed. If they fail to reach an agreement, Washington may exit the deal.

Trump wants to eliminate “sunset clauses” that expire in a few years, as well as boost inspections of Iran's nuclear sites and add measures restricting Iran's ballistic missile program.

Trump's appointment of Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and foreign policy hawk raises possibilities of the U.S. pulling out of the agreement.

In an article published in the Wall Street Journal on Jan. 16, Bolton stated “Mr. Trump correctly sees Mr. Obama's deal as a massive strategic blunder.”

He further said, “Although deal proponents also gained time to pursue 'fixes,' this is a forlorn option. No fix will remedy the diplomatic Waterloo Mr. Obama negotiated.”

Bolton's stance is that the U.S. should discard the deal.

Views are that the Trump administration's hard-line stance toward Iran will intensify pressure against North Korea and underscore its stance of complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement of Pyongyang's nuclear program.

However, at the same time, there are concerns that if Washington leaves the Iran nuclear deal, it could send a message to Pyongyang that the U.S. can't be trusted to honor nuclear agreements.

In May, Trump and Kim will meet to discuss Pyongyang's denuclearization. Earlier this month, Kim made a surprise announcement in a meeting with South Korean envoys in Pyongyang that the regime would be willing to give up its nuclear program under provided circumstances.

Pressure toward Pyongyang is expected to mount ahead of the meeting between the leaders, as Washington has replaced key positions in the administration with hawks ― former Central Intelligence Agency director Mike Pompeo as secretary of state and Bolton as national security adviser.

In an interview on Fox News on March 12, Bolton stated the upcoming Washington-Pyongyang summit could be a short meeting, because the U.S. has a clear stance on the latter's denuclearization.

“I don't think this needs to be a long discussion. If you want to denuclearize, we've got the ships and the planes to do it for you. We're ready to go. Just tell us where to show up,” he said.

“If you're not ready for that, then you're not ready to denuclearize. And you're not going to string us out and confuse the situation just so you can perfect your deliverable nuclear weapons technology.”