KJU to Trump: We're Ready To Discuss Abandoning Our Nukes
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is apparently willing to speak with President Donald Trump about the regime’s denuclearization.
A Trump administration official confirmed Kim’s stance to Fox News on Sunday, with the network reporting that the move to get rid of North Korea’s nukes might be part of a process that would eliminate all nuclear weapons across the Korean Peninsula.
The news comes as Trump and Kim are set to meet in person, possibly in May.
BREAKING NEWS: North Korea has told the @realDonaldTrump administration that Kim Jong Un is ready to discuss denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. https://t.co/ul1Q316eBX pic.twitter.com/P369nqzch4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 8, 2018
Though many have expressed concerns regarding this upcoming meeting, Trump seems to be hopeful, tweeting late last month that “there is a good chance” Kim decides to “do what is right for his people and for humanity.”
For years and through many administrations, everyone said that peace and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not even a small possibility. Now there is a good chance that Kim Jong Un will do what is right for his people and for humanity. Look forward to our meeting!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018
“Look forward to our meeting!” the president added.
Some analysts, though, are worried that North Korea is not revealing its true intentions.
“It’s possible that Kim Jong Un has a different meaning in mind,” said Abraham Denmark, a former senior U.S. defense official.
Denmark also noted that North Korea’s potential denuclearization might be dependent on the U.S. creating what Fox called “the right conditions.”
“So far it sounds like the same old tune,” Denmark added.
In another tweet, Trump also alluded to a meeting between Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping, indicating that though the meeting between the two Asian leaders went well, sanctions are still necessary to keep North Korea in check.
Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me. In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018
“Received message last night from XI JINPING of China that his meeting with KIM JONG UN went very well and that KIM looks forward to his meeting with me,” Trump wrote. “In the meantime, and unfortunately, maximum sanctions and pressure must be maintained at all cost!”
North Korea’s sudden diplomatic outreach to nations like China, South Korea and the U.S. is in stark contrast to the numerous months — even years — the regime spent threatening a nuclear strike.
Mounting tensions had sparked months of back-and-forth threats and insults between Kim and Trump, with Trump warning of “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Kim were to launch missiles at the U.S.
In August, after Kim declared that his nuclear strike launch button was ready at all times, Trump tweeted: “I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”
Though things have seemed to calm down in recent months, satellite images captured increased activity at a North Korean nuclear site in February.
The photos suggest that preliminary testing is underway of an experimental light water reactor. North Korea has “possibly brought another reactor online at its Yongbyon Nuclear Research Center,” Fox reported. Both reactors could produce fissile materials that would be needed for nuclear bombs.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
