North Korea’s Kim Jong-un not ready to denuclearise, US intelligence agency chief Robert Ashley says
- Comments come ahead of Trump’s visit to South Korea, after exchange of letters with Kim boosted hopes for resumption of talks
- Earlier summit collapsed when leaders were unable to bridge differences between US demands for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief
The US intelligence community does not believe North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is ready to denuclearise, US Defence Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Robert Ashley told Fox News in an interview on Monday.
A summit in February between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed when the two leaders were unable to bridge differences between US demands for denuclearisation and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.
“We still continue to assess within the IC (intelligence community) that Kim Jong-un is not ready to denuclearise,” Ashley said.
Trump will visit South Korea this weekend after an exchange of letters with Kim boosted hopes for a resumption of talks aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear programme.
Trump is set to arrive in South Korea for a two-day visit on Saturday, and will meet President Moon Jae-in on Sunday, following a summit of G20 leaders in Japan, Moon’s spokeswoman, Ko Min-jung, said on Monday.
