US considers North Korea the most urgent threat
(Baonghean.vn) - North Korea is the most urgent threat to the US as negotiations to eliminate the country's nuclear weapons program remain deadlocked.
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| US Secretary of Defense James Mattis. Photo: AP |
US Secretary of Defense James Mattis recently made the above comment at the Reagan National Defense Forum held in Simi Valley, California, USA.
According to the head of the US defense industry, in terms of urgency, North Korea is a major urgent problem that the US needs to solve. This is also the reason why the sanctions (against North Korea) have received the consensus of the permanent member countries of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Last year, the UN Security Council passed a series of sanctions resolutions against North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests. According to Mr. Mattis, if North Korea wants to escape UNSC sanctions, it must make some progress in eliminating its nuclear weapons program.
US President Donald Trump has expressed his commitment to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue by announcing his intention to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in January or February.
At the first US-North Korea summit in Singapore last June, the US President and North Korean leader signed a joint statement, according to which Washington pledged to provide security guarantees to Pyongyang in exchange for a commitment to denuclearization.
However, since the meeting, the US-North Korea negotiations have been deadlocked due to differences between the two sides. Pyongyang wants the US to lift sanctions in exchange for phased denuclearization, but the US says it will only lift sanctions once North Korea has completely denuclearized.
In a meeting on the sidelines of the recent G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed to maintain current sanctions on North Korea until the country completely denuclearizes.
