North Korea denuclearization possible by 2021: US

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. hopes to see an end to North Korea's nuclear ambitions before the end of President Donald Trump's first term in January 2021 following a failed Vietnam summit last month, according to Japan's Kyodo news agency.

"The United States aims to denuclearize North Korea by the end of [the president's] first term in January 2021," Japan's Kyodo news agency quoted an anonymous U.S. diplomat as saying.

The U.S. statement comes amid reports that North Korea was "restoring an ancillary building" of its Dongchang-ri long-range missile launch site which was partially disassembled last year.

The denuclearization process involves removing nuclear warheads and fissile material, destroying intercontinental ballistic missiles, and permanently freezing any other weapons of mass destruction programs, the U.S. official told reporters.

"In our view, it is still doable within the president's first term, and that's what we're pushing very hard with our North Korean interlocutors to achieve," the U.S. official said.

Kyodo also quoted National Security Adviser John Bolton as saying that the U.S. president was "open to holding further talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over denuclearization despite the breakdown of their second meeting last week".

Trump and Kim unexpectedly cut short their talks in Hanoi summit on Feb. 28 with Trump saying he could not fulfill the demand of "entirely lifting sanctions on Pyongyang" for denuclearization.

Trump’s claim was rejected by North Korea.