US seeks timeline on Korean denuclearization: Report

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The United States is seeking a timeline on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a news report said Wednesday ahead of a planned summit meeting between the American and North Korean leaders.

South Korean Yonhap news agency said a visiting South Korean parliamentary delegation met with U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun in Washington where they discussed U.S. envoy's recent visit to Pyongyang last week.

"With only two weeks until the summit, it will be difficult to resolve all the tricky issues, but there's a chance if we can agree on a timeline (for denuclearization)," Yonhap quoted Biegun as telling the South Korean delegation.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet for their second summit on Feb. 27 & 28 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Biegun reportedly told the South Korean lawmakers that his meeting with North Korean counterpart, Kim Hyok-chol, covered more than a dozen items on their pre-summit agenda.

"From the start of the meetings, we agreed with the North Koreans that this time we would not negotiate but make our respective positions clear,” Yonhap quoted Biegun.

The Hanoi summit is hoped to devise an action-for-action deal to dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program as Pyongyang seeks the lifting of UN sanctions.

Trump and Kim met for the first time in Singapore in June last year where the two leaders committed to working toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in exchange for security guarantees for Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, ahead of the Trump-Kim summit later this month, Seoul has sought a one-to-one meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Poland where a Washington-led meeting will discuss peace and security in the Middle East. South Korean foreign minister will represent Seoul.