US expects DPRK can denuclearize

Senior official says it possible by the end of Trump's 'first term' in January 2021

The United States still believes "fully verified denuclearization" by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is possible by the end of President Donald Trump's "first term", a senior official said on Thursday, despite Trump saying earlier that he would be "very disappointed" if reports on Pyongyang's alleged efforts to rebuild its rocket sites prove to be true.

US media reported on Tuesday that the DPRK appeared to have started "rapid rebuilding" of the long-range rocket site at Tongchangri Launch Facility, citing an imagery analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.

Trump equivocated when asked on Thursday if he was disappointed about the news. "We'll see," he said. "We'll let you know in about a year."

The president had declared that it was "too early" to tell if a previous report about activity at the site was true.

'Sufficient time'

The US senior official confirmed that Washington would seek "clarifications on the purposes" of rebuilding the site from Pyongyang.

"We don't know why they are taking these steps," the official said, requesting anonymity. "We still believe this (denuclearization) is all achievable within the president's first term."

Unless re-elected, Trump's term will end in January 2021.

"We have sufficient time," the official said, without mentioning a deadline for reaching an agreement so the goal could be met.

"Where we really need to see progress and we need to see it soon is meaningful and verifiable steps on denuclearization as quickly as we can," the official added, while stressing that the US side was pushing an all-in strategy for a final deal.

"Nobody in the administration advocates a step-by-step approach," said the official, adding that in all cases, the expectation is a complete denuclearization of the DPRK "as a condition for all the other steps being taken".

The reported activity in the DPRK, however, did not seem particularly alarming, and certainly not on a scale of resuming missile tests that have been suspended since 2017, Reuters said on Tuesday, citing a US government source.

Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also declined to comment on the reports of alleged activities at the DPRK rocket launch site, only saying that the US would continue to have conversations with the DPRK.

Trump and DPRK top leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb 27-28, without reaching an agreement.

Nevertheless, the White House said the two leaders had "very good and constructive meetings" and discussed various ways to "advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts".

US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Thursday that Trump is open to having further talks with Pyongyang.

"We'll see when that might be scheduled or how it might work out," Bolton said in an interview with Fox News.

Bolton also said it was premature to make any judgment on the reports of activities at the alleged DPRK rocket launch site.

AFP, Xinhua and AP contributed to this story.

(China Daily 03/09/2019 page14)