Trump positive about NK leader's Seoul visit
South Korean President Moon Jae-in, center, arrives for the opening of the Group of 20 summit at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early Saturday (KST), Dec. 1. AP-Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
Leaders agree to maintain NK sanctions
By Kim Yoo-chul
BUENOS AIRES ― President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Donald Trump have agreed to maintain sanctions on North Korea until complete and verifiable denuclearization of the North.
Trump, however, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul, if realized, would be a positive factor in creating new momentum for the denuclearization talks. On Sunday, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One his next meeting with Kim is likely to be in January or February.
Moon and Trump had bilateral talks for 30 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in the Argentine capital, Saturday.
Only translators were allowed to attend the Moon-Trump meeting, and there was no joint statement after the talks.
“The summit was mainly about how to advance the stalled denuclearization process,” Moon's chief press secretary Yoon Young-chan said. “They agreed that sanctions should remain until final, fully verifiable denuclearization (FFVD) is achieved.”
This contradicts earlier thoughts and expectation that the Moon-Trump meeting would encompass the phased and reciprocal denuclearization of the North. Rather, the meeting apparently failed to resolve differences between Washington and Pyongyang over this.
Trump's apparent refusal to accept Moon's “sanctions-easing” pitch shows that the United States and North Korea still remain far apart on the pace of denuclearization and possible sanctions relief. Washington and Pyongyang aren't prepared for major concessions at this time, another presidential aide said.
President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump before the start of their informal 'pull-asides' meeting at the Costa Salguero Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina, early Saturday (KST), Dec. 1. Yonhap
Yoon said Moon pushed for an early second summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to break the impasse in the nuclear disarmament talks. North Korea abruptly cancelled a planned meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in early November citing a “scheduling matter.”
“Speaking to Moon, Trump remained quite hopeful that his planned second summit with the North's leader Kim will happen. Also, Trump told Moon that he was hoping to see big progress toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula through his second meeting with the North Korean leader,” Yoon said.
Regarding estimated effects of Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul on the denuclearization talks, Yoon said; “Trump told Moon that Kim Jong-un's visit to the South Korean capital would be a positive factor in terms of creating new momentum for the stalled denuclearization talks. South Korea wants to make Kim's visit happen at the earliest possible date within this year. But this is an issue that South Korea can't handle alone.”
President Moon believes Kim's visit to Seoul will serve as a turning point in relations between the two Koreas.
The United States is continuing its policy of “maximum pressure” on the North Korean regime until it fully dismantles its nuclear weapons.
Since North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in 2006, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has imposed several sets of tough sanctions on Pyongyang to block its attempts to fund to its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
China, Russia and South Korea recently asked the UNSC and the United States for an easing of sanctions to encourage the North to announce more concrete and details steps toward denuclearization.