North Korea has repeatedly rejected US proposals for denuclearization.
(Baonghean.vn) - On August 8, Vox reported that North Korea has repeatedly rejected US proposals, which included setting an official timetable for Pyongyang to begin reducing its weapons stockpile by 60 to 70% within eight months and transferring warheads to a third party.
 |
| US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice Chairman of the Workers' Party of North Korea Kim Yong-chol. Photo: AP |
In return, the US would lift economic sanctions and remove North Korea from the list of state sponsors of terrorism. Vox, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the matter, added that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had repeatedly proposed this plan to North Korean Workers' Party Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol, but it was rejected each time.
Nearly two months after the historic meeting between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore, denuclearization negotiations between the two sides have yielded virtually no concrete results.
Immediately after the meeting, Trump tweeted that "there is no longer a nuclear threat from North Korea."
However, when testifying before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in late June, Pompeo acknowledged that Pyongyang is still producing nuclear materials, despite Kim Jong-un's commitment to denuclearization.
NBC, citing unnamed US officials, reported that US intelligence agencies also believe Pyongyang has increased production of nuclear weapons fuel at several secret locations in recent months.
In an interview with Fox News on August 7, US National Security Advisor John Bolton said: "The United States has complied with the Singapore Declaration. Only North Korea has not taken the steps that we feel are necessary for denuclearization." Bolton emphasized that the US will continue to exert economic pressure until Pyongyang shows concrete results in denuclearization.
