Seoul Expects 2nd US-North Korea Summit To Result In Concrete Denuclearization Deal

Seoul expects that the second US-North Korean summit, set to be held in late February, will result in a concrete agreement enabling the sides to reach goals outlined during the first summit, namely, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace in the region, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd January, 2019) Seoul expects that the second US-North Korean summit, set to be held in late February, will result in a concrete agreement enabling the sides to reach goals outlined during the first summit, namely, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace in the region, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said.

"The first summit was historic in itself, and the outcome of it was a very broad framework of shared goals ... So, the goalposts are there and so the second summit has now to produce concrete agreement towards those goalposts," Kang said in a interview for Yonhap news Agency's English YouTube channel KOREA NOW.

The minister specified that the United States had not scaled down its expectations concerning the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"There's no shifting, not a bit, about what the goal is. It's complete denuclearization. It's a goal stated in a series of [UN] Security Council resolutions," Kang noted.

The South Korean top diplomat added that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un prioritized his country's economic development. Since this is not possible "under the sanctions regime," he is willing to "deliver on the denuclearization track," Kang explained.

The first Kim-Trump took place in June in Singapore. At the landmark talks, the two sides expressed their commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea pledged to make steps toward denuclearization in exchange for the United States and South Korea freezing their military drills as well as the potential removal of US sanctions.