US mulls suspending sanctions if North Korea agrees to denuclearisation, Yonhap reports

Washington is considering lifting sanctions on Pyongyang’s exports of coal and textiles for 12 to 18 months, according to the South Korean news agency

But the potential deal is contingent on the hermit kingdom dismantling its main nuclear facility and freezing its entire nuclear programme, a source says

3-MIN READ3-MIN

US President Donald Trump walked out of February’s Hanoi summit without a deal after North Korea’s Kim Jong-un asked for the removal of nearly all sanctions in return for dismantling the country’s main nuclear facility. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00pm, 11 Jul 2019Updated: 6:56am, 12 Jul 2019

The United States is considering the suspension of certain sanctions on North Korea if the hermit kingdom dismantles its main nuclear facility and freezes its entire nuclear programme, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said on Thursday.

Citing a source close to the White House’s deliberations on North Korea, Yonhap said the potential offer would see the suspension of United Nations Security Council sanctions restricting North Korea’s exports of coal and textiles – a major source of income for the regime – for 12 to 18 months.

“The White House, when working-level talks begin, wants to set the conditions whereby it can begin the process of North Korea’s denuclearisation,” the source was quoted as telling Yonhap and two other news outlets.

The suspension of sanctions could be renewed if progress in denuclearisation “moves at a good pace” but would “snap back” if the North cheats in any way, he said.

A North Korean missile launch in May. Photo: AP

Professor Yang Moo-jin at Seoul’s University of North Korea Studies said this idea was one of various propositions by policy experts to make a breakthrough with the stalled denuclearisation negotiations.