US and North Korean representatives to resume talks days after missile test
Representatives from North Korea and the US will meet today in an attempt to resume negotiations on denuclearising the Korean Peninsula. The talks come after Pyongyang tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile this Wednesday.
President Trump’s June 30 visit to the demilitarised zone to restart stalled nuclear negotiations resulted in no serious effort by Pyongyang to cut its nuclear arsenal. Though a ballistic missile and not a nuclear weapon was trialled this week, the test’s proximity to new negotiations is Kim’s reminder of North Korea’s capabilities.
On Wednesday, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe accused North Korea of violating UN Security Council resolutions; Tokyo has taken a firm stance against Pyongyang’s behavior in the last three years. For its part, China has not condemned its neighbour’s ballistic missile launch, but has welcomed the resumption of talks between Pyongyang and Washington.
The West’s prevailing strategy on Korean security has been to “kick the can down the road”—to hamper the North Korean nuclear arsenal by weakening the Kim regime under a tight net of economic sanctions. While hunger and poverty remain prevalent, the North Korean nuclear stockpile has not decreased. Pyongyang is believed to have an arsenal of 20 to 30 nuclear weapons and fissile material for 30 to 60 more.
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