Seoul says North Korea sanctions may be eased before full denuclearization

(File photo) US President Donald Trump (R) gestures as he meets with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) at the start of their historic US-North Korea summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa island in Singapore on June 12, 2018.
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un have become on June 12 the first sitting US and North Korean leaders to meet, shake hands and negotiate to end a decades-old nuclear stand-off. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB

 

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — South Korea said Monday that sanctions against North Korea could be eased once it takes “substantive steps towards denuclearization”, seemingly setting the bar lower than Washington for such a move.

Last week’s Singapore summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un produced only a vague statement in which Kim “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”.

Amid fears the summit would weaken the international coalition against the North’s nuclear program, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stressed after the meeting that sanctions would remain in place until North Korea’s complete denuclearization.

But his South Korean counterpart suggested Monday they could be eased sooner.

“Our stance is that the sanctions must remain in place until North Korea takes meaningful, substantive steps towards denuclearization,” Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told reporters.

Seoul and Washington shared the same “big picture” view and would continue close consultations, she added.

The comments come just days after China’s foreign ministry suggested that the UN Security Council could consider easing the economic punishment of its Cold War-era ally.

Any reduction in tensions on its doorstep is welcome for China, North Korea’s closest ally, which accounts for around 90 percent of Pyongyang’s trade.

(File photo) This picture taken on April 27, 2018 and released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 29, 2018 shows North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un (L) and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in (R) posing during a signing ceremony near the end of their historic summit at the truce village of Panmunjom. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS / STR 

 

The same goes for the South’s dovish President Moon Jae-in, who supports engagement with North Korea and held his own summit with Kim in April.

Until recently Trump had pursued a “maximum pressure” campaign — with both China and South Korea on board — of tough rhetoric and tightened sanctions against Pyongyang.

But analysts say the Singapore summit has made it hard for the Trump administration to return to that policy even if its current diplomacy with North Korea proves to be a failure.

“The symbolism of the meeting ensures that the maximum pressure campaign has peaked,” said Scott Snyder, senior fellow for Korea Studies at the US Council on Foreign Relations, in a commentary.

“In practice, China and South Korea will push for relaxation of economic pressure on North Korea,” he added.

© Agence France-Presse