WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – North Korean leader Kim Jong-un must provide the exact number of nuclear weapons in the country’s arsenal as well as a timeframe for their dismantling at the next potential summit with US President Donald Trump, South Korean lawmaker Cho Won-jin told Sputnik.
The US State Department on Tuesday said that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with Kim on October 7 in Pyongyang. Pompeo last week said the second Trump-Kim summit, a follow-up to their June meeting in Singapore, is more likely to happen after October.
“If they were to meet Kim Jong Un must come out with the details of how many nuclear weapons and by when he is going to dismantle them,” Cho, the leader of the Korean Patriots Party, said on Tuesday.
It will be very difficult, the lawmaker added, to come to an agreement because the North Koreans will no longer make concessions knowing they can “get away without giving anything.”
Cho also said he believes that the sanctions on North Korea should be enhanced to reach full denuclearization.
“We must… continue with the sanctions but we must make it stronger. Otherwise, they’ll never give up their nukes,” Cho said.
Cho is currently in Washington for meetings with US lawmakers and government officials.
“We will be meeting at the Korean desk at the State Department, the people who are in charge of Korean affairs. As for senators we’ll be meeting senators such as Mark Rubio and four others,” Cho said.
The situation on the Korean Peninsula has significantly improved over the last few months with the North Korean leader pledging to give up his nuclear aspirations after several rounds of talks with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in and a historic summit with Trump in Singapore in June.
Trump and Kim, in particular, reached an agreement that required Pyongyang to denuclearize in exchange for a freeze on US-South Korean military drills and eventual sanctions relief. The two politicians have also exchanged several messages after the summit handed via third parties.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
