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U.S. demands N. Korea ship its nuclear weapons out of the country

U.S. demands N. Korea ship its nuclear weapons out of the country

Posted May. 14, 2018 07:29,   

Updated May. 14, 2018 07:29

한국어

The United States has demanded that North Korea ship a considerable amount of its nuclear weapons out of the country as a condition for lifting sanctions and guaranteeing the regime’s security. North Korea is said to be mulling over the demand ahead of next month’s summit between the two countries, and Pyongyang’s response to the request is expected to be the key issue at the first Trump-Kim sit-down. The North is currently presumed to have up to 60 nuclear warheads and around 40 kilograms of plutonium.

“U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last week reportedly demanded that the North not only halt the development of nuclear weapons but also ship its nuclear materials and missiles out of the country,” said a diplomatic source on Sunday. “Pyongyang’s response to the demand is not known as taking nuclear weapons out of a country is unprecedented.”

According to the source, the Trump administration has also come up with a detailed measure in which North Korea would hand over its nuclear weapons to a “neutral country” and dismantle them under the management of the international community. “The complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” and “permanent, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement (PVID)” each mentioned by U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both seem to be pointing to the complete disposal of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons under the management and verification of the outside world.


Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com · In-Chan Hwang hic@donga.com