SINGAPORE: U. S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday (Nov 15) President Donald Trump plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in…
SINGAPORE: U. S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Thursday (Nov 15) President Donald Trump plans to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2019 and will push for a concrete plan outlining Pyongyang’s moves to end its arms programs.
The United States and North Korea have been discussing a second meeting of their leaders after a June summit in Singapore to lay the groundwork for ending a nuclear standoff between the old foes.
„The plans are ongoing. We believe that the summit will likely occur after the first of the year, but the when and the where of that is still being worked out,“ Pence told reporters after meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.
In a separate interview with NBC News, Pence said the United States would not require Pyongyang to provide a complete list of nuclear weapons and locations before the second summit but that the meeting must produce a concrete plan.
„I think it will be absolutely imperative in this next summit that we come away with a plan for identifying all of the weapons in question, identifying all the development sites, allowing for inspections of the sites and the plan for dismantling nuclear weapons,“ Pence said.
In prepared remarks for the plenary session of the East Asia Summit, Pence said it was essential that international sanctions pressure be maintained on North Korea until its complete denuclearisation was achieved.
„Chairman Kim agreed to this and we must hold North Korea accountable,“ he said.
North Korea had been angered by Washington’s refusal to ease sanctions and has warned it could resume development of its nuclear programme if the United States did not drop its campaign.
A U. S. think tank said on Monday it had identified at least 13 of an estimated 20 active, undeclared missile bases inside North Korea, underscoring the challenge for American negotiators hoping to persuade Kim to give up his weapons programs.
