1 Title: N. Korea-U.S. denuclearization process hit major snag after Hanoi summit fails to produce agreement
- 5 years ago
To my (left/right) Dr. Woo Jung-yeop -- a research fellow at the Sejong Institute,... and to my (right/left) Dr. James Kim -- a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.
Welcome
Q1>
Dr. Woo let me start by asking you -- usually when there is a summit like this -- it results in some kind of outcome whether it be small or big. Would you consider the second North Korea-U.S. summit which failed to produce any sort of agreement was unprecedented?
Q2>
So, the talks ended without bearing any fruit. Would you say no deal is better than a bad deal?
Q3>
So, both sides have given their own remarks following the breakdown in talks.
But, North Korea and the U.S. have made contrasting remarks.
President Trump at his press conference said that North Korea had demanded that all sanctions be lifted. But a few hours later, North Korea's foreign minister said that they asked for partial sanctions relief,... which the U.S. didn't accept. What did you make of this?
Q4>
According to the North's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho,... Pyeongyang had sought partial relief of sanctions from the U.S., not complete relief.
Ri said the North is specifically seeking the lifting of sanctions under five UN resolutions adopted in 2016 and 2017, that hamper the people's livelihoods,..., in exchange for permanently and completely dismantling all nuclear material production facilities in Yeongbyeon. Which sanctions do you think the North was referring to?
Q5>
Turning to you now James. Would you say that the remarks by President Trump and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho show that there is a difference between the two sides regarding denuclearization steps?
Q6>
If we now turn to the expanded summit -- something to note was that the U.S. had an extra participant at the table -- National Security Advisor John Bolton. Bolton is known for his hawkish stance on North Korea. But the seat at the opposite side, which would have been his North Korean counterpart was left empty. Do you think Pyeongyang intentionally did this?
Q7>
Some also say that the breakdown of the Hanoi summit shows that the top-down negotiations aren't working. What's your view on this?
Q8>
Another factor is the domestic political issues within the U.S.
Several major media outlets had actually had extensive coverage regarding former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and his congressional testimony about alleged lawbreaking by Trump, despite the ongoing Hanoi summit. Do you think this had any impact at all?
Q9>
There's also speculation that North Korea, having this in mind, actually kept its bars high as well?
Q10>
Something to note this time around is the difference between the two sides regarding time. Kim stressed that they don't have a minute to lose,... whilst President Trump has repeatedly said he's in no rush.
Q11>
Do you think North Korea appears to want fast progress? Do you think sanctions are really hitting the regime and that it's to do with the fact that the regime putting its all into econ
Welcome
Q1>
Dr. Woo let me start by asking you -- usually when there is a summit like this -- it results in some kind of outcome whether it be small or big. Would you consider the second North Korea-U.S. summit which failed to produce any sort of agreement was unprecedented?
Q2>
So, the talks ended without bearing any fruit. Would you say no deal is better than a bad deal?
Q3>
So, both sides have given their own remarks following the breakdown in talks.
But, North Korea and the U.S. have made contrasting remarks.
President Trump at his press conference said that North Korea had demanded that all sanctions be lifted. But a few hours later, North Korea's foreign minister said that they asked for partial sanctions relief,... which the U.S. didn't accept. What did you make of this?
Q4>
According to the North's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho,... Pyeongyang had sought partial relief of sanctions from the U.S., not complete relief.
Ri said the North is specifically seeking the lifting of sanctions under five UN resolutions adopted in 2016 and 2017, that hamper the people's livelihoods,..., in exchange for permanently and completely dismantling all nuclear material production facilities in Yeongbyeon. Which sanctions do you think the North was referring to?
Q5>
Turning to you now James. Would you say that the remarks by President Trump and Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho show that there is a difference between the two sides regarding denuclearization steps?
Q6>
If we now turn to the expanded summit -- something to note was that the U.S. had an extra participant at the table -- National Security Advisor John Bolton. Bolton is known for his hawkish stance on North Korea. But the seat at the opposite side, which would have been his North Korean counterpart was left empty. Do you think Pyeongyang intentionally did this?
Q7>
Some also say that the breakdown of the Hanoi summit shows that the top-down negotiations aren't working. What's your view on this?
Q8>
Another factor is the domestic political issues within the U.S.
Several major media outlets had actually had extensive coverage regarding former Trump lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen and his congressional testimony about alleged lawbreaking by Trump, despite the ongoing Hanoi summit. Do you think this had any impact at all?
Q9>
There's also speculation that North Korea, having this in mind, actually kept its bars high as well?
Q10>
Something to note this time around is the difference between the two sides regarding time. Kim stressed that they don't have a minute to lose,... whilst President Trump has repeatedly said he's in no rush.
Q11>
Do you think North Korea appears to want fast progress? Do you think sanctions are really hitting the regime and that it's to do with the fact that the regime putting its all into econ