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White House National Security Advisor John Bolton

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeated the message that North Korean denuclearization must come before sanctions relief, remarking on Mar. 18 that a “brighter future for the North Korean people” must “follow the verified denuclearization of North Korea.”

The message sent to Pyongyang by the Trump administration since the second North Korea-US summit ended without an agreement last month is further solidifying into an insistence of prioritizing complete denuclearization beyond the Yongbyon nuclear complex, maintaining sanctions in tandem with dialogue, and keeping nuclear and missile testing suspended.

The US has clarified that it wants a “big deal” that trades complete denuclearization for total sanctions relief. Speaking with local news outlets in Kansas on Mar. 18, Pompeo was asked why the summit had failed to produce the anticipated progress.

“[I]t’s clearly a range of issues around timing and sequencing and how it is we achieve this,” he replied. His message appeared to stress the need for verified denuclearization to occur before sanctions relief while recognizing the need for a road map for corresponding measures to match North Korea’s denuclearization phases. In terms of the denuclearization concept, Washington had stated a strict definition consisting of the elimination of all major nuclear fuel cycle components (including the Yongbyon nuclear complex), fissile material, nuclear warheads, and ICBMs as well as the permanent freezing of WMDs, including biological chemical weapons. The “verified denuclearization” mentioned by Pompeo appeared to be a reference to the existing concept of “final, fully verified denuclearization [FFVD],” a foreign affairs source said.

The US has also made it clear it ends to maintain sanctions in tandem with dialogue. In a keynote speech for the GES Heartland event in Kansas that day, Pompeo declared, “We currently have both the toughest sanctions in history as well as the most promising diplomatic campaign in history too.”

“We hope this combination will lead to a safer, more secure region [on the Korean Peninsula] and around the world,” he added.

The State Department announced on Mar. 19 that Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun would be visiting London to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization with his British, French and German counterparts. Biegun appears likely to discuss the implementation of sanctions. At the same time, the US has left open the possibility of dialogue, insisting that diplomacy remains alive even after North Korean Vice Minister Choe Son-hui’s Mar. 15 remarks suggesting that Pyongyang is “considering the suspension of negotiations.” Pompeo has continued to voice the hope that dialogue and negotiations can continue.

If North Korea does resume nuclear tests and missile launches, North Korea-US relations could quickly return to their pre-2017 tensions. This would be a major blow to Trump, who has touted North Korea’s halt to such tests and launches as one of his foreign policy achievements. This explains why Washington has been urging restraint from Pyongyang, with Trump declaring he would be “very disappointed” if the North resumed such activity, what acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said would be a “breach of trust”. Pompeo, for his part, has stressed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s pledge not to resume tests and launches.

In repeating this message, the US has clung to its “all or nothing” approach. North Korea, which advocates a step-by-step solution, has countered with a tradeoff of dismantlement of the Yongbyon complex for relief on key sanctions.

“It looks like some time will be needed before dialogue resumes,” said a foreign affairs source.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, and Park Min-hee, staff reporter

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