North Korea activity ‘inconsistent with denuclearisation’ says US general, in blow to Donald Trump negotiating tactics
- US lawmakers are told there has been ‘little to no verifiable changes in North Korea’s military capabilities’
North Korea’s activity on nuclear weapons and missiles is inconsistent with its pledge to denuclearise, the commander of US forces in South Korea said on Wednesday, in a further blow to Donald Trump’s negotiating tactics with the hermit nation.
A summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Hanoi last month broke down over differences about US demands for North Korea to rid itself of nuclear weapons that threaten the United States, and North Korea’s demand for substantial relief from international sanctions imposed on it because of its nuclear and missile tests.
“Their activity that we have observed is inconsistent with denuclearisation,” US Army General Robert Abrams said during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. Abrams did not provide further details.
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He had been asked if the United States had seen a change in North Korea’s production of nuclear weapons, material and missiles.
Abrams said that while he had enough intelligence and surveillance resources to deal with the current situation, that might not be the case if relations were to worsen on the Korean peninsula.
“If they change negatively then our stance and our posture is not adequate to provide us an unblinking eye to give us early warning and indicators,” he said.
There has been no sign of direct contact between Washington and Pyongyang since the collapse of the summit, though Trump has stressed his good personal relationship with Kim.
Randall Schriver, the Pentagon’s top Asia policy official, said there had be no progress on denuclearisation.
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“Our door is still open for diplomacy, but to date we have not seen movement on denuclearisation,” Schriver said.
Several American think tanks and South Korean officials reported that satellite imagery showed possible preparations for a launch from the Sohae rocket launch site at Tongchang-ri, North Korea.
There have also been reports from South Korea’s intelligence service of activity at a factory at Sanumdong near Pyongyang that produced North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the United States.
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Since then however, South Korea’s defence minister has said it was premature to say whether recent activity at some of North Korea’s rocket facilities involved preparations for a missile launch.
Abrams said that despite a reduction in tensions with North Korea, there had been little to no verifiable changes in its military capabilities.
“North Korea’s conventional and asymmetric military capabilities along with their continued development of advanced conventional munitions and systems all remains unchecked,” Abrams said.
North Korea has frozen nuclear and missile testing since 2017, and Trump has pointed to this as a positive outcome from nearly a year of high-level engagement with North Korea.
The commander of US forces in Asia, Admiral Philip Davidson, also said that China had not been helpful in imposing sanctions on North Korea in the maritime arena.
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“They are offering zero assistance … They are certainly not monitoring their own territorial seas very well,” Davidson said.
UN sanctions monitors reported to the Security Council in February that there had been a “massive increase in illegal ship-to-ship transfers of petroleum products and coal” by North Korea that had rendered the latest sanctions ineffective.
