Is the US about to lower the bar for North Korea denuclearisation?

There are growing signs Washington is about to set aside its previous demand for complete disarmament after months of stalemate with Pyongyang

Reports indicate the Trump administration is considering sanctions relief in exchange for concrete progress towards slowing down the North’s nuclear programme

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A North Korea People’s Army soldier stands at the entrance to a tunnel at the Punggye-ri nuclear test facility before a demolition “ceremony”. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:32pm, 17 Jan 2019Updated: 10:05pm, 17 Jan 2019

Ahead of an anticipated second summit between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, there are growing signs that Washington is ready to lower the bar for a denuclearisation deal with Pyongyang that delivers at least some progress after months of stalemate.

“You could have something that talks about slowing the programme down in exchange for sanctions relief or reorientation of the American footprint, or maybe long-term suspension of large exercises with South Korea,” said Vipin Narang, a specialist in nuclear proliferation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), referring to US troops in South Korea. “Both sides can save face then.”

On Wednesday, South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Seoul and Washington were discussing incentives to offer the North in return for significant actions toward nuclear disarmament.

Both sides can save face then

Vipin Narang, MIT

Unnamed South Korean officials, meanwhile, told Reuters this week the US was considering “interim” measures to end the gridlock. South Korea’s Chosun newspaper reported that the Trump administration was weighing sanctions relief in exchange for the North freezing its nuclear programme and sending its intercontinental ballistic missiles abroad for disposal.

Under United Nations and US sanctions, North Korea is banned from exporting moneymakers such as coal, iron ore and textiles, and subject to tight restrictions on imports of oil and refined petroleum.

The Trump administration, which has repeatedly insisted that there would be no sanctions relief before complete denuclearisation, has kept mum on reports of a change in policy.

South Korean protesters hold banners during a rally denouncing a US visit to a border village the Koreas have been demilitarising as part of steps to reduce military tensions amid a larger diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear crisis. Photo: AP

North Korea’s nuclear negotiator Kim Yong-chol departed Beijing for Washington on Thursday for expected talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during which the sides could finalise details of a second summit. Trump and Kim are anticipated to meet as early as February or March, with speculation pointing to Vietnam or Thailand as likely venues.

At their first summit in Singapore last June, Trump and Kim signed a vaguely worded statement in which Pyongyang agreed to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”. Pyongyang has taken only reversible or largely symbolic steps toward disarmament since, holding out for “corresponding measures” from the US – widely interpreted to mean a relaxation of sanctions.

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