U.S. calls for keeping up pressure on North Korea ahead of inter-Korean summit
- 6 years ago
With the U.S. and North Korea summit likely to happen sometime in May or early June... Washington has vowed to keep the pressure on Pyongyang ahead of the upcoming exchanges.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Things have rarely looked so rosy on the Korean peninsula ahead of next week's inter-Korean summit,... and the planned Washington-Pyongyang meeting set for some time in May or early June.
However, the United States remains firm on its continued financial and diplomatic pressure on the North to get the regime to surrender its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood,... attending a news conference at the UN headquarters in Geneva on Thursday,... reaffirmed the Trump administration's stance on the North.
"We will be looking at this, in this preparatory committee meeting, to continue to put pressure on North Korea to fulfill its obligations. And again, the United States remains committed to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea."
Wood added that the U.S. delegation would be looking for support at the two-week conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,... which is set to open in Geneva next Monday.
With the U.S.-North Korea summit planned to take place after the inter-Korean summit,... Ambassador Wood declined to reveal the details of the U.S. strategy for the denuclearization of North Korea,... but noted that President Trump has made it clear he would not pursue a "traditional process".
He added that Trump's role will be important,... but it will take two to make it happen.
"His abilities are going to be very important, but like for anything else, it takes two to tango, and the North has to be willing to take steps that the North itself has said in the past it was willing to take."
Back in February,... the U.S. envoy stated that the North is only months away from obtaining the capability to hit U.S. territory with a nuclear weapon and must be disarmed,... dismissing Pyongyang's diplomatic thaw with Seoul as a "charm offensive".
While North Korea has shown its willingness to completely denuclearize,... watchers continue to remain on guard.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Things have rarely looked so rosy on the Korean peninsula ahead of next week's inter-Korean summit,... and the planned Washington-Pyongyang meeting set for some time in May or early June.
However, the United States remains firm on its continued financial and diplomatic pressure on the North to get the regime to surrender its nuclear weapons program.
U.S. Disarmament Ambassador Robert Wood,... attending a news conference at the UN headquarters in Geneva on Thursday,... reaffirmed the Trump administration's stance on the North.
"We will be looking at this, in this preparatory committee meeting, to continue to put pressure on North Korea to fulfill its obligations. And again, the United States remains committed to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea."
Wood added that the U.S. delegation would be looking for support at the two-week conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,... which is set to open in Geneva next Monday.
With the U.S.-North Korea summit planned to take place after the inter-Korean summit,... Ambassador Wood declined to reveal the details of the U.S. strategy for the denuclearization of North Korea,... but noted that President Trump has made it clear he would not pursue a "traditional process".
He added that Trump's role will be important,... but it will take two to make it happen.
"His abilities are going to be very important, but like for anything else, it takes two to tango, and the North has to be willing to take steps that the North itself has said in the past it was willing to take."
Back in February,... the U.S. envoy stated that the North is only months away from obtaining the capability to hit U.S. territory with a nuclear weapon and must be disarmed,... dismissing Pyongyang's diplomatic thaw with Seoul as a "charm offensive".
While North Korea has shown its willingness to completely denuclearize,... watchers continue to remain on guard.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.