U.S.: Freezing of N. Korea’s WMD programs is a priority at Hanoi summit

A U.S. government official, who is working on the preparation of the second U.S.-North Korea summit, mentioned that freezing all of Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs and delivery systems will be a priority at the second summit. With less than a week before the summit, the official practically admitted that North Korea has not confirmed its intention to denuclearize and the two sides have not reached a shared understanding on the concept of denuclearization.

Speaking to reporters in a conference call on Thursday (local time), the official outlined the U.S. priorities as developing a shared understanding of what denuclearization is, freezing of all of Pyongyang’s WDM programs, and putting together a roadmap for denuclearization. This is the first time that a U.S. high-ranking official directly mentioned the word “freezing” during the U.S.-North Korea denuclearization negotiation process.

“I don’t know if North Korea has made the choice yet to denuclearize, but the reason why we’re engaged in this is because we believe there is a possibility,” said the official. The official added that President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will advance their shared understanding on denuclearization at the upcoming summit.


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