The US has revealed its willingness to resume talks with North Korea, following a meeting between Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in at which Kim pledged to dismantle key parts of his nuclear weapons programme.
Following Kim and Moon’s meeting this week in Pyongyang, North Korea said it would close down key missile facilities and “permanently dismantle” facilities central to fuel production for nuclear warheads, provided the US took “unspecified actions”, Reuters says.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“This will mark the beginning of negotiations to transform US-DPRK relations through the process of rapid denuclearisation of North Korea,” Pompeo said in a statement.
Pompeo has also asked other North Korean officials to meet the new US special envoy, Stephen Biegun, in Vienna on an unspecified date.
The New York Times says that despite the offer put forward by North Korea falling “far short of what American officials have demanded”, Donald Trump nonetheless congratulated Kim and Moon over the agreement signed after their meeting on Wednesday.
However, the Times notes that the agreement between North and South Korea “seemed aimed more at reducing tensions along their shared border than moving quickly toward denuclearisation”.
The deal also sidesteps US demands for North Korea to surrender all of its nuclear capabilities before negotiations begin, instead allowing Pyongyang to work with South Korea on a step-by-step process of dismantling the weapons programme.
-
The Night Manager series two: ‘irresistible’ follow-up is ‘smart, compelling’ TVThe Week Recommends Second instalment of the spy thriller keeps its ‘pace’, ‘intrigue’ and ‘sly sexiness’
-
11 hotels opening in 2026 to help you reconnect with natureThe Week Recommends Find peace on the beaches of Mexico and on a remote Estonian island
-
Zimbabwe’s driving crisisUnder the Radar Southern African nation is experiencing a ‘public health disaster’ with one of the highest road fatality rates in the world
-
Delcy Rodríguez: Maduro’s second in command now running VenezuelaIn the Spotlight Rodríguez has held positions of power throughout the country
-
What will happen in 2026? Predictions and eventsIn Depth The new year could bring peace in Ukraine or war in Venezuela, as Donald Trump prepares to host a highly politicised World Cup and Nasa returns to the Moon
-
Shots fired in the US-EU war over digital censorshipIN THE SPOTLIGHT The Trump administration risks opening a dangerous new front in the battle of real-world consequences for online action
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Is Europe finally taking the war to Russia?Today's Big Question As Moscow’s drone buzzes and cyberattacks increase, European leaders are taking a more openly aggressive stance
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
