US and North Korea’s long history of distrust could prove main stumbling block on road to nuclear-free peninsula
Despite declarations of goodwill between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, the North is unlikely to relinquish its arsenal until it believes American guarantees
Building sustainable mutual trust between Washington and Pyongyang will be the key to ensuring that North Korea lives up to its pledges to denuclearise even if Beijing plays a role in future inspections, analysts have warned.
But neither side has yet to provide a clear definition of denuclearisation or detailed plans as to what that would entail.
Washington and Seoul want “complete, verifiable, irreversible dismantlement”, also known as CVID, of the North’s nuclear programme – not just the closure of its missile launch centres and an end to nuclear tests.
But Pyongyang, may want to see the removal of US strategic assets from the South or even the complete withdrawal of all US troops from the peninsula.
Zhao Tong, from the nuclear policy programme at the Carnegie-Tsinghua Centre for Global Policy, said any security guarantees provided by the US could easily be reversed so Pyongyang may choose to hold on to its nuclear weapons in the short term.