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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. (Hankyoreh archives)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned easing sanctions while talking about North Korea and the US’ denuclearization negotiations. In an interview with the press on Feb. 13, Pompeo said that “it’s our full intention of getting a good outcome in exchange for relieving those sanctions. I’m very hopeful that we can do that.”

Pompeo publicly indicated a willingness to relieve sanctions just a week or two before the second North Korea-US summit raises expectations about the prospects of the two countries’ negotiations.

The US’ previous position had been that sanctions will not be eased or lifted until North Korea’s complete denuclearization. But leading up to the second summit, the North has called for the easing of sanctions, which it says are incompatible with improving bilateral relations. Pompeo’s remarks suggest that the US has come to terms with the fact that North Korea cannot be persuaded to take steps toward denuclearization without a little quid pro quo in the form of easing sanctions. That’s prompting questions about whether a resolution can be found to the two sides’ continuing squabble over steps toward denuclearization and corresponding measures, which is the agenda of the upcoming summit.

The critical question is how far the two sides are willing to go in their swap of denuclearization steps and corresponding measures. During working-level negotiations held in Pyongyang on Feb. 6-8, US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun and North Korea State Affairs Commission Special Representative for US Affairs Kim Hyok-chol reportedly put all their respective demands on the table. During those talks, North Korea appears to have asked the US to ease sanctions in exchange for the North dismantling its Yongbyon nuclear facilities, as Kim Jong-un promised last year. The US apparently responded by indicating that it might consider easing sanctions if North Korea went one step beyond shutting down the Yongbyon facilities.

Pompeo’s remarks can be taken as expressing with greater clarity the US’ position on that. If the Yongbyon shutdown and something extra can be traded for sanctions relief, that alone might be enough for the second summit to be regarded as having achieved substantial progress. The summit’s outcome would be even more impressive if the two leaders agreed to draft a timetable for denuclearization and corresponding measures.

North Korea and the US appear to be strongly committed to achieving something concrete in their second summit. Pompeo’s remarks about easing sanctions prompt the hope that that commitment will lead to a meaningful outcome. Considering that the second round of working-level talks will be held next week, shortly before the summit in Hanoi, we hope that North Korea and the US will agree to a daring trade during those talks.

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