US Confident Promises By Trump, Kim To Be Fulfilled Amid Reports On North's Weapon Test

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 16th November, 2018) The US State Department told Sputnik that Washington was confident commitments for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, made by US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their landmark Singapore summit, would be fulfilled, amid media reports about a test of a new high-tech strategic weapon by Pyongyang.

The South Korean Yonhap news agency has reported, citing a message carried by the North Korean state-run Korean Central Broadcasting Station, that Kim had observed the test of the state-of-the-art weapon. The reports added that the test had been successful but have not specified what weapon was tested.

"At the Singapore Summit, President Trump and Chairman Kim made a number of commitments regarding final, fully verified denuclearization and creating a brighter future for North Korea. We are talking with the North Koreans about implementing all of those commitments .

.. We remain confident that the promises made by President Trump and Chairman Kim will be fulfilled," the State Department spokesperson said late on Thursday.

The spokesperson reiterated Trump had indicated that if Pyongyang fully abandoned nuclear weapons, "there is a bright future for North Korea."

On Thursday, US Vice President Mike Pence said Trump planned to hold the next meeting with Kim at the beginning of 2019. Pence added, however, that the administration would not repeat past mistakes and allow promises to be broken.

In 2017, the relations between North Korea and the United States were at the verge of a catastrophe, exacerbated by Trump and Kim exchanging threats with each other. However, the situation stabilized in 2018, as the two leaders held talks in Singapore in June.

During the negotiations, Trump expressed readiness to provide security guarantees to Pyongyang, while Kim expressed the commitment to denuclearize North Korea.