Mike Pompeo, the Secretary of State, stated on Tuesday that the US Administration is dealing with preparation for the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In recent days there were threats from NK that they would withdraw from the summit.
Talking about the June 12th event, Pompeo said: “We are continuing to prepare both our team and the White House so that, in the event that the summit takes place on June 12, we are fully prepared with the mission statement having not changed at all. We are committed to achieving denuclearization and creating conditions such that the North Korean regime no longer threatens the world.”
These statements come as a response to the news that the chances are high that North Korea will walk out on the meeting. But, regardless of their claims, State Department is continuing with the preparations as the conference is going to happen as it’s scheduled.
In recent weeks North Korea had a U-turn in their foreign policy. The country that was isolated for decades said that it will cease its nuclear program and that president Kim is willing to negotiate the terms with the US president Donald Trump. As a sign of goodwill, NK released three US prisoners that were captivated in the north part of the Korean peninsula.
The 12th June summit was jeopardized when North Korea canceled scheduled meetings with their Southern counterparts because SK army conducted joint exercises with the US military stationed on their territory. NK officials claim that they will withdraw from the summit if Trump continues to insist on “unilateral nuclear abandonment.”
According to New York Times, Donald Trump has been consulting his allies whether he should meet with Kim because he has concerns that the meeting could be politically embarrassing. On the other hand, sources close to Seoul claim that the US-NK meeting will happen as planned and that chances of it happening are 99.9%.
Chung Eui-Yong, the national security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-In, stated: “We believe there is a 99.9 percent chance the North Korea–U.S. summit will be held as scheduled. But we’re just preparing for many different possibilities.”
Source: thehill.com
