The Trump administration has insisted repeatedly that tough international sanctions will remain in place until North Korean leader Kim Jong-un honors his commitment to…
The Trump administration has insisted repeatedly that tough international sanctions will remain in place until North Korean leader Kim Jong-un honors his commitment to permanently give up his nuclear arsenal. But with President Trump proclaiming via Twitter that the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis is “over,” there are growing signs other countries looking to do business with Pyongyang aren’t willing to wait that long.
North and South Korea are talking of re-establishing rail links and improving the North’s road networks, with an eye on facilitating further deals.
Russia is considering energy opportunities, including a gas pipeline, with the Kim regime.
Chinese traders say the crackdown on illicit trade along the North Korean border has eased in the days since Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim held their June 12 summit in Singapore.
India, the North’s second-biggest trading partner after China, has quietly maintained diplomatic links throughout the nuclear crisis and recently sent its highest-ranked diplomat in two decades to Pyongyang to meet with senior North Korean officials.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has repeatedly said that U. S. and allied sanctions should not be lifted until “complete denuclearization” is achieved, but even Mr. Trump has hinted that the deadline for doing business may be flexible.
“At a certain point, I look forward to taking [sanctions] off, and they will come off when we know we are down the road,” the president told reporters last week without specifying when “down the road” would be.
The president sees business and investment opportunities for North Korea, one of the most isolated economies in the world, should the nuclear question be resolved.
He told reporters covering the Singapore summit that he outlined for Mr. Kim possible condominium developments and beach resort projects that the North could pursue on beaches currently occupied by the military.
“There will be a point at which, when you’re 20 percent through [the denuclearization process], that you can’t go back,” Mr. Trump said in Singapore. “When you hit a certain point, you can’t go back.”
Chinese and Russian officials have openly hinted that some of the sanctions designed to drive North Korea to the bargaining table can be reconsidered now that Washington and Pyongyang are talking once again.
Radio Free Asia, in a report last month, reported numerous instances of China easing its enforcement of border controls on North Korean commerce, including less-rigorous inspections of trucks crossing the border and increased shipments by North Korean commodity firms selling to Chinese customers.
