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Kim says wants to denuke in Trump’s first term: Seoul

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SEOUL: North Korea’s Kim Jong Un wants to realise denuclearisation during US President Donald Trump’s first term — giving a timeline for the first time — and has agreed to a third summit with his South Korean counterpart, Seoul officials said.


Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-In will meet in Pyongyang on September 18-20 and will discuss “practical measures” towards denuclearisation, Moon’s national security adviser, Chung Eui-Yong, said on Thursday after meeting Kim a day earlier.


The summit could in turn provide renewed momentum to talks over denuclearlisation between North Korea and the United States, after Trump cancelled a visit to the North by his secretary of state last month citing a lack of progress.


Kim told South Korean officials his faith in Trump was “unchanged” and he wanted denuclearisation and an end to hostile relations with the United States within Trump’s first term in office, ending in early 2021, Chung said.


“He particularly emphasised that he has never said anything negative about President Trump,” Chung said. The remarks represent Kim’s first timeline for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme.


North Korea has said in previous, failed talks over the years that it could consider giving up its nuclear programme if the United States provided security guarantees by removing its troops from South Korea and withdrawing its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from South Korea and Japan.


US officials involved in negotiations have said North Korea has refused to even start discussions about defining “denuclearisation” or other key terms such as “verifiable” and “irreversible”, and have insisted the United States must first agree to take simultaneous steps to reduce economic pressure. — Reuters


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