Trump demanded transfer of NK’s nuclear weapons and fuel to US during Hanoi summit

Posted on : 2019-04-01 17:10 KST Modified on : 2019-04-01 17:10 KST
Reuters report says US prepared document of demands prior to summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump demanded that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un transfer the North’s nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the US during their Hanoi summit, Reuters reported on Mar. 29.

In a move reminiscent of the so-called “Libya model” that provoked an extremely negative response from the North, Trump appears to have devised a comprehensive set of demands from the time he departed for Hanoi, anticipating the possibility that no deal would be reached.

Citing an anonymous source, Reuters reported that Trump delivered Korean- and English-language versions of a document containing the blunt demands while meeting Kim on Feb. 28 in their summit at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi.

According to Reuters, the US called for “fully dismantling North Korea’s nuclear infrastructure, chemical and biological warfare program and related dual-use capabilities; and ballistic missiles, launchers and associated facilities.”

In addition to the transfer of nuclear weapons and bomb fuel to the US, the document also demanded a comprehensive declaration of the North’s nuclear program and full access for US and international inspectors, the suspension of all nuclear-related activities and any construction of new nuclear facilities, the elimination of all nuclear infrastructure, and the transitioning of nuclear scientists and technicians to commercial activities.

US demands slightly different from Libya model

The document was intended to clearly convey to North Korea what the US is referring to as “final, fully verifiable denuclearization [FFVD],” sources said. While White House National Security Advisor John Bolton previously said in early March press interviews that Trump had shared a “big deal” document with Kim, the Reuters report was the first to indicate that the US had gone as far as to demand the transfer of nuclear weapons and fuel.

In particular, the transfer of nuclear weapons and fuel to the US would be similar to the so-called “Libya model” demanded by Bolton as a solution toward North Korea’s denuclearization ahead of the first North Korea-US summit last June. At the time, Bolton defined denuclearization as “getting rid of all the nuclear weapons, dismantling them, taking them to Oak Ridge, Tennessee.” Pyongyang’s objections prompted damage control from Trump, who insisted that the Libya model was “different” from his approach on North Korea.

Reuters suggested the document might help in understanding why the Hanoi summit failed to yield an agreement, noting that it “probably would have been seen by Kim as insulting and provocative.”

While visiting Washington, DC, on Mar. 30 for coordinating a South Korea-US summit set to take place on Apr. 11, Blue House National Security Office Second Deputy Chief Kim Hyun-chong was asked by reporters whether the report was consistent with what Seoul had determined about the situation.

“Yes, it was,” Kim replied, adding that South Korea “was also being debriefed” by the US.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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