North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged to work toward the “complete” denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula while U.S. President Donald Trump committed to provide security guarantees to Pyongyang in the first-ever summit between their two countries Tuesday.
Speaking at a signing ceremony for a joint statement issued at the conclusion of historic summit in Singapore, Trump called the document “pretty comprehensive” and said the two sides will start the process of ridding the North of nuclear weapons “quickly”.
Some question the effectiveness of the statement because it makes no reference to concrete measures nor to a time frame to achieve denuclearization. It does not say how Trump will provide security assurances to Pyongyang, either.
Speaking in a post-summit news conference that stretched over an hour, Trump said sanctions on North Korea will remain in effect ”in the meantime” to compel the country to take credible actions toward denuclearization.
But in what appeared to be part of confidence-building measures, Trump said the United States will suspend joint military exercises with South Korea as long as dialogue continues with Pyongyang, amounting to a major concession to the North.
Trump said he is not considering reducing U.S. troop levels in South Korea, but did not rule out the possibility of doing so in the future.
The president quoted Kim as saying North Korea will soon destroy a major missile engine testing site. Trump hailed the move as ”big thing”.
The statement does not address the abduction issue, nor short- and medium range missiles capable of hitting South Korea and Japan.
The statement, however, does not mention ”complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization” a concept Pompeo has said would be the only outcome the United States will accept.
Reference: Kim Jong Un promises “complete” denuclearization with Trump
