Trump responded positively to relaxing sanctions with “snapback clause” during Hanoi summit 

Posted on : 2019-03-27 17:31 KST Modified on : 2019-03-27 17:31 KST
Choe Son-hui implies Bolton and Pompeo prevented agreement
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui holds a press conference with foreign diplomats in Pyongyang on Mar. 15. (AP/Yonhap News)
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui holds a press conference with foreign diplomats in Pyongyang on Mar. 15. (AP/Yonhap News)

During the North Korea-US summit in Hanoi last month, US President Donald Trump reportedly had a positive perspective on relaxing sanctions on North Korea provided that there was a “snapback” clause that would reinstate sanctions if the North failed to implement its agreement.

North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui made this statement during a briefing to foreign diplomats in Pyongyang on Mar. 15, but her full remarks hadn’t been made public until now. According to the text of Choe’s remarks released on Mar. 25, she said, “When we made a practical proposal in the talks, President Trump adopted the flexible position that an agreement would be possible if a clause was added stating that the sanctions could be reinstated if North Korea resumed nuclear activities after the sanctions were lifted.”

But Choe went on to say that, “because of their continuing hostility and mistrust, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and White House National Security Advisor John Bolton created obstacles to the two leaders’ efforts to have constructive negotiations, and ultimately the summit didn’t produce meaningful results.” Some portions of Choe’s press conference on Mar. 15 were covered by foreign correspondents who were present at the event, but their reports did not include Choe’s comments about Trump’s reaction to the snapback clause.

According to previous reports about the Hanoi summit, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un repeatedly asked Trump to lift the five sanction resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council since 2016 in exchange for the North shutting down its Yongbyon nuclear complex. A high-ranking government official who is familiar with North Korea-US relations added that “Kim reportedly was serious about his proposal to shut down Yongbyon, but he basically kept asking for the sanctions to be lifted.”

According to Choe’s statement that Trump was open to the idea of providing sanctions relief with a snapback clause, the two leaders appear to have explored the possibility of trading Yongbyon’s shutdown for partial sanctions relief. During the press conference that Trump held after his summit with Kim ended without an agreement, Trump did say he could have signed an agreement at the summit. There were even rumors that, when Trump walked out of the meeting room, lower level officials from both sides were in the middle of drafting the text of the agreement. Choe’s remarks imply that the ultimate reason the summit concluded without an agreement was because of resistance from Pompeo and Bolton.

When North Korea refused to budge from its demand for sanctions to be eased in exchange for denuclearization prior to the Hanoi summit in February, there was a discussion by South Korean government officials and experts of a plan to ease sanctions with a snapback clause. But a note of caution was sounded by Lee Dong-ryeol, director of the Peace Diplomacy Planning Team at the South Korean Foreign Ministry who visited the US after the breakdown of the Hanoi summit.

“There has been significant discussion and research about possible plans for lifting sanctions such as a snapback, but it’s too early to be thinking about that,” Lee said during a seminar at the Seoul residence of the Swedish ambassador to South Korea on Mar. 20.

Choe’s remarks regarding Moon’s arbiter role inflated by previous media reports

In a related story, Choe was earlier reported as describing South Korean President Moon Jae-in as being a “player, not an arbiter,” but what she actually said was that his “role is more that of a facilitator than an arbiter.”

Choe made the remarks in question while quoting something said by Moon Chung-in, Moon Jae-in’s special advisor for unification, foreign affairs and national security, by way of fielding a question from the foreign press. Choe’s actual remarks were reportedly as follows: “After hearing Moon Chung-in’s remarks [that South Korea probably couldn’t play the role of an arbiter but could play the role of a facilitator], what I thought is that [his explanation of President Moon’s role] could be taken to mean that his role is more that of a facilitator than an arbiter.”

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and a senior official at the Blue House had previously said that the foreign press had misrepresented Choe’s remarks, but they hadn’t disclosed her actual remarks.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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

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