Will North Korea move all nuclear warheads abroad?
Pyongyang has so far been reluctant to ship 20 nuclear warheads abroad as requested by Washington.
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North Korean missiles participate in a military parade in Pyongyang (Photo: Reuters) |
It is unclear whether the US and North Korea can reach an agreement on this issue, as Pyongyang has so far been reluctant to ship its 20 nuclear warheads abroad as requested by Washington.
For the US administration, convincing North Korea to ship its nuclear warheads abroad is part of the process of “complete, verifiable and irreversible” denuclearization.
North Korea is not yet ready to move all of its nuclear weapons and missiles outside its territory, according to unnamed US officials. Pyongyang is likely to agree to transfer only certain types of missiles first, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of hitting the US mainland. If US and North Korean officials cannot reach a consensus in ongoing discussions, the Trump-Kim summit could continue to discuss the issue, the sources said.
In addition, US and North Korean officials are also expected to discuss how to get Pyongyang to abandon its weapons-grade plutonium program, as well as its highly enriched uranium and other materials related to the process of making nuclear weapons.
Japanese media reported that during a meeting earlier this month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told leader Kim Jong-un that Washington could remove Pyongyang from the list of state sponsors of terrorism if North Korea shipped its nuclear weapons abroad.
Meanwhile, US National Security Adviser John Bolton said North Korea's nuclear weapons should be dismantled and transferred to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee if leader Kim Jong-un wants sanctions relief.
