Once again, there appears to be confusion on the subject of nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States. Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, set a December 31 deadline for talks on denuclearization. The White House national security adviser Robert O'Brien indicated that channels of communication are open but the deadline is over and there is no progress on the subject.
That has not gone down well with Kim’s regime and the country has distanced itself from the talks. It has made its stand clear and it says previous commitments are no longer binding on it. These included calling a halt to the testing of its nuclear weapons and launching of ICBMs.
ABC AU says North Korea announced at the United Nations-backed Conference on Disarmament that further talks with the United States are on hold. It also said that it was no longer interested in talks. Ju Yong Chol, an official said in Geneva, "We found no reason to be unilaterally bound any longer by the commitment that the other party fails to honor." He accused America of applying sanctions that are not only cruel but also inhuman and cautioned that if the US continues with this attitude, North Korea might opt for a new strategy.
The US wants North Korea to denuclearize
US President Donald Trump has built a good rapport with Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea. They have held face-to-face meetings on a number of occasions and have also exchanged messages. However, things are not happening the way Kim would have liked them to. He wants liberalization of sanctions whereas Trump’s priority is denuclearization. There is an obvious conflict of interest and a workable solution is necessary. Policymakers will no doubt work at evolving some kind of new dialogue.
ABC AU mentions that in December, North Korea dropped hints about an unspecified "new path" it could take if the US did not change its stand and come up with a new model for negotiations.
It also threatened to take action if the other side did not show a positive response. In the opinion of US military commanders, such action could mean the resumption of testing of a long-range missile, possibly with a nuclear warhead. Pyongyang rejected unilateral disarmament and put forth some proposals. If America implements them, the hermit kingdom could consider surrendering its arsenal.
North Korea might modify its strategy
According to Global News, an official of North Korea said since the US ignored the deadline for the resumption of nuclear talks, there was nothing binding on Pyongyang. It has the freedom to modify its strategies and “seek a new path.” He said his country had suspended nuclear tests as a part of its confidence-building measure with the United States.
However, there was no corresponding gesture from the other side. Rather, the U.S. conducted joint military exercises with South Korea and imposed sanctions. U.S. disarmament ambassador Robert Wood is hopeful that the North will return to the table and evolve an arrangement to fulfill the pledge of denuclearization made between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un.
Denuclearization could help North Korea
Ever since taking over office, President Donald Trump has wanted to convince Kim Jong-un to abandon his nuclear ambitions and surrender his arsenal. That would help his country to flourish, bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and joy to his people. The president met Kim on three occasions at different venues.
First, it was in Singapore, then in Hanoi and finally in the DMZ in North Korea. Trump has built a special understanding with the leader of North Korea. However, the topic of denuclearization continues to remain an elusive issue.