At the Singapore summit in June of 2018, North Korea warmed up to the idea of complete denuclearization of course with the promise of security guarantees from the United States government which includes an end to hostilities between the two nations. Negotiators from United States, South Korea and North have been engaged in a series of negotiations (Jonathan). However, progress has been hampered by lack of complete commitment and demands for security guarantees from Pyongyang prior to doing away with its nuclear arsenal. While North has not yet conducted any nuclear tests since the Singapore support in June, it has not taken any meaningful steps in dismantling its nuclear arsenal (Jonathan). The agreement for complete denuclearization includes halting of any further nuclear tests and dismantling of all plants that manufacture missile and nukes (Simon and Anne). Part of the agreement in the negotiations was to have international nuclear experts monitor the dismantling of North nuclear arsenal. North Korea also made a commitment to wind up its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon (Jonathan). The United States under the Trump administration committed to ending its long-standing hostilities with North Korea part of which included lifting economic sanctions (Choe and David). However, the United States government has insisted that North Korea takes clear and actionable steps towards the denuclearization program before it commits to ending hostilities and lifting sanctions (Youkyung and Jihy). Already, the Trump administration has expressed its willingness in engaging in a second summit with the North Korean leader (Choe and David). United States secretary of state’s Mike Pompeo visited North Korea in October to reinvigorate the stalled talks on denuclearization and lay the groundwork for a second summit. Pompeo's visit focused on furthering progress on commitments made by North Korean and United States leaders in the Singapore summit (Simon and Anne).
For years the international community and the United States, in particular, has been engaged in negotiations to put an end to North Koreas nuclear and missile development and its export of nuclear technology. These negotiation efforts have always been marred with crisis and stalemate.
The United States government has over the past years taken or implemented several policy initiatives in response to the proliferation of nuclear weapons in North, including the imposition of sanctions and military cooperation with its allies within that particular region. The United States has previously engaged in two diplomatic negotiations with North Korea in exchange for foreign aid. For instance, the United States signed a Nonproliferation Agreement with North Korea in 1994 (Kelsey). In this agreement, North Korea agreed to the freezing of its nuclear development programs in exchange for foreign aid. However, this agreement collapsed in 2002 and once again North resumed its nuclear development program. A fresh round of talks resumed in 2003. The negotiations involved six nations, including China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the United States and North Korea (Kelsey). A breakthrough was arrived at in 2005 when North Korea made a commitment to abandon its nuclear development program. There was another breakdown in 2009 with North Korea stating that it was not willing to engage in any further talks and it was not bound by any agreements ((Kelsey). However, things have really changed since the turn of the year with the United States and North Korea engaging in negotiation with a view of having North Korea abandon its nuclear development program. The Korean Peninsula has been a center of conflict since 1950 when North Korea invaded the south (Kelsey). The international community viewed North Korea as a dangerous nuclear power since its withdrawal from the international nonproliferation treaty in 1985 (Kelsey). With key United States allies, Japan and South Korean at the highest risk of nuclear attacks, it is easy to tell the reason for United States involvement in the whole process. However, the position of China which borders North Korea to the North on the whole issue of denuclearization is a bit unclear. With North Korean conducting 90 percent of its foreign trade with China, China remains its key ally and only true friend.
The North Korean leader has already pledged to denuclearize before the end of President Trump’s first term in office. The pledge marks the first time a North Korean leader has placed a timeline on the dismantling of the nuclear development program. The United States has already made some concessions with the suspension of Joint United States-South Korean military cooperation in the Korean peninsula. While the progress toward total denuclearization is slow, some steps in the right direction have already been made by major parties involved in the process. This includes the United States, North Korea and South Korea.
Works Cited
Jonathan, Ernst. “North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to denuclearize during Trump’s first term: Seoul officials.” CNBC. 2018. Accessed November 15, 2018, from https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/06/north-koreas-kim-jong-un-wants-to-denuclearize-by-trumps-first-term.html
Choe, Sang-Hun and David, Sanger. “North Korea’s New Nuclear Promises Fall Short of U.S. Demands.” New York Times. 2018. Accessed November 15, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/19/world/asia/north-south-korea-nuclear-weapons.html
Simon, Denyer and Anne, Gearan. North Korea leader offers to dismantle nuclear test site — but only after U.S. acts. Washington Post. 2018. Accessed November 15, 2018, form https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/north-korea-leader-offers-to-dismantle-nuclear-test-site--but-only-after-us-acts/2018/09/19/cbdd6a60-bb77-11e8-a8aa-860695e7f3fc_story.html?utm_term=.edb513d29fe8
Youkyung, Lee and Jihye, Lee. “Kim Sets Timeline to Denuclearize as U.S. Awaits Strategic Shift.” Bloomberg. 2018. Accessed November 15, 2018, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-06/kim-calls-for-progress-on-denuclearization-north-korea-says
Kelsey, Davenport. “Chronology of U.S.-North Korean Nuclear and Missile Diplomacy. Arms Control Association.” 2018. Accessed November 15, 2018, from https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/dprkchron
