North Korea announced today it will suspend nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches ahead of its summits with Seoul and Washington, but stopped well short of suggesting it has any intention of giving up its nuclear weapons or scale back its production of missiles and their related component parts.<\/p>\n
The new policy, which sets the table for further negotiations when the summits begin, was announced by leader Kim Jong Un at a meeting of the North Korean ruling party\u2019s Central Committee on Friday and reported by the North\u2019s state-run media early Saturday.<\/p>\n
Kim justified the suspension to his party by saying that the situation around North Korea has been rapidly changing \u201cin favor of the Korean revolution\u201d since he announced last year his country had completed its nuclear forces. He said North Korea has reached the level where it no longer needs to conduct underground testing or test-launching of ICBMs.<\/p>\n
He added that the country would close its nuclear testing facility at Punggye-ri, though that site was already believed to have been rendered largely unusable due to tunnel collapses after the North\u2019s test of what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb last year.<\/p>\n
The announcement is seen as an opening gambit aimed at setting the tone for talks ahead of Kim\u2019s summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next Friday and U.S. President Donald Trump in late May or early June.<\/p>\n
Trump almost immediately responded with a tweet saying, \u201cThis is very good news for North Korea and the World\u201d and \u201cbig progress!\u201d He added that he\u2019s looking forward to his upcoming summit with Kim.<\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s presidential office also welcomed North Korea\u2019s announcement as \u201cmeaningful progress\u201d toward the denuclearization of the peninsula. Presidential official Yoon Young-chan said in a statement that the North\u2019s decision brightens the prospects for successful talks between Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington.<\/p>\n
Japan\u2019s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe welcomed the announcement too but was a bit more guarded in his reaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is crucial here \u2026 is how this development is going to lead to the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of nuclear arms, weapons of mass destruction and missiles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I will keep a close eye on that.\u201d Some analysts believe that rather than denuclearizing, Kim feels he is entering the negotiations from a position of strength and is hoping to achieve tacit recognition that his country is now a nuclear power.<\/p>\n
They believe he wants engage in talks and make some concessions around the edges that would convince Washington and other countries to ease sanctions on his struggling economy.<\/p>\n
In his speech at the party meeting, Kim praised his nuclear policy as \u201ca miraculous victory\u201d achieved in just five years. A resolution passed after his speech also stressed that the country had successfully achieved its goals of obtaining a viable nuclear force and suggested it intends to keep that force \u2013 at least for the time being.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe aim of this, in my view, is to make it exceedingly difficult for Trump to say the North is uninterested in talks and walk away,\u201d he said. \u201cKim is doing everything he can now \u2013 in a reversible way, mind you \u2013 to ensure the summit happens. Because that\u2019s his ultimate victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tossing out another nugget that could be used at the summits, Kim stressed at the party meeting his desire to shift the national focus to improving the country\u2019s economy, which has been hit hard by international sanctions and the \u201cmaximum pressure\u201d strategy pushed by Trump.<\/p>\n
The announcement ends what had been an ominous silence from Pyongyang regarding the stunning diplomatic moves Kim has been making since the beginning of this year, including his first summit, with Chinese President Xi Jinping, last month.<\/p>\n
It also gives the best idea yet of what Kim intends to bring with him in his summits with Moon and Trump.<\/p>\n
Seoul says Kim has expressed genuine interest in dealing away his nuclear weapons. But North Korea for decades has been pushing a concept of \u201cdenuclearization\u201d that bears no resemblance to the American definition, vowing to pursue nuclear development unless Washington removes its troops from the peninsula.<\/p>\n
Some important items were also left off the North\u2019s resolution, suggesting either that the North isn\u2019t willing to go that far or that it wants to wait and see how much it can gain by further concessions once actual talks begin.<\/p>\n
It did not announce a moratorium on short- or mid-range missile launches or ground-based engine testing. It also did not suspend the production of more fissile material to build additional warheads, or the production of the longer-range missiles, which are Washington\u2019s primary concern.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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