President Donald Trump will push North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to move fast on dismantling his country's nuclear arsenal, but he's not willing to grant sanctions relief unless the country dismantles its nuclear programs substantially, a senior administration official is saying.
"When the president says that he will not make the mistakes of the past, that means the U.S. will not be making substantial concessions, such as lifting sanctions, until North Korea has substantially dismantled its nuclear programs," the official, who was not named, told The Wall Street Journal.
"If North Korea is willing to move quickly to denuclearize, then the sky is the limit. All sorts of good things can happen."
On Saturday, Kim announced, following a meeting of the central committee of North Korea's ruling party, that long-range missile tests would be suspended and the country's nuclear test site would be closed.
President Donald Trump hailed the announcement as "big progress" through a tweet on Friday. However, in a different tweet on Sunday, he warned the United States is still a long way from a deal with North Korea.
The two leaders will meet in a summit outside both countries in either late May or June.
Kim, however, on Saturday, hinted that his comments did not mean he'd give up nuclear weapons, and in March, while meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the North Korean leader was quoted as saying he favors "phased, synchronized measures."
The Trump administration, though, does not wish to make concessions based on the nuclear arsenal being stopped later, said the senior administration official.
"A freeze in itself is easily reversed," the official said. "When it comes to allowing economic activity to resume, that is something North Korea is going to have to earn . . . They are not going to get the sort of relief from economic sanctions I am sure they are looking for in the absence of dramatic progress in dismantling their programs."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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