Trump says no time limit on N. Korea's denuclearization: Yonhap

By Lim Chang-won Posted : July 18, 2018, 08:49 Updated : July 18, 2018, 08:49

[AP/Yonhap News Photo]


WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Donald Trump said that there is "no time limit" on dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons program, appearing to take a step back from earlier demands for immediate denuclearization.

Trump's remarks came a month after his historic summit with Kim Jong-un, during which the North Korean leader committed to work toward the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees from the United States.

"We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. We're just going through the process," Trump told reporters at a meeting with members of Congress at the White House.

The president struck a markedly different tone from early this year when he accused past administrations of engaging in step-by-step negotiations with North Korea that ultimately collapsed and allowed the regime to buy time to build its nuclear arsenal. Trump declared after his summit with Kim that the North Korean nuclear threat is over, a statement several of his top aides later walked back.

"Discussions are ongoing, and they're going very, very well," he added. "We have no rush for speed. The sanctions are remaining. The hostages are back. There have been no tests. There have been no rockets going up for a period of nine months, and I think the relationships are very good, so we'll see how that goes."

There has been growing skepticism about North Korea's seriousness about denuclearization in the weeks following the summit. Multiple news reports have cited U.S. intelligence as showing the continued expansion of North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile facilities, feeding suspicions that Pyongyang is trying to dupe Washington.
(Yonhap)
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