White House National Security Advisor John Bolton on Sunday praised President Trump’s decision to walk away from negotiations last week with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that ended abruptly without securing a deal on the rogue nation’s nuclear arsenal.
As U.S. and South Korean officials announced plans to end large-scale, annual military exercises in the Korean Peninsula to support diplomacy with North Korea over the weekend, Mr. Bolton answered Sunday talk show questions about what has been called a “failed” summit between Washington and Pyongyang.
“I don’t agree at all that it was a failed summit,” Mr. Bolton, who attended the talks with Mr. Kim, told Chris Wallace on “Fox News Sunday.”
Mr. Trump cut talks with Mr. Kim short when the North Korean leader insisted that all economic sanctions be dropped before his country agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear program.
North Korean officials were quick to dispute claims that it had requested to be relieved of all sanctions, saying in a rare press conference after the summit that they made a “realistic” proposal to the U.S. and only requested five of eleven sanctions be lifted.
Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho told reporters that North Korea offered to permanently end testing of long-range nuclear rockets and did not demand — as Mr. Trump contended — an immediate end to all economic sanctions.
“I think [President Trump] made a very important point to North Korea and to other countries around the world,” Mr. Bolton told Fox News. “He’s not desperate for a deal, not with North Korea, not with anybody if it’s contrary to American national security interests.”
Mr. Ri said North Korea offered to dismantle the Yongbyon nuclear testing site, one of the largest test sites in the country, and all nuclear material production facilities in front of U.S. experts, but added that the U.S. demanded “one more” measure they were not willing to fulfill.
Speaking on CBS “Face the Nation,” Mr. Bolton said Mr. Trump is “ready to keep talking” with North Korea and believes the country will review the outcome of the summit in Hanoi.
“The president is fully prepared to keep negotiating at lower levels or to speak to Kim Jong-un again when it’s appropriate,” he said.
“If North Korea commits to complete denuclearization, including its ballistic missile program and its chemical and biological weapons programs,” Mr. Bolton added, “the prospect of economic progress is there.”
In an effort to support ongoing negotiations and diplomacy with North Korea, the U.S. announced it will end large-scale military exercises with South Korea.
Following a phone call between acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and South Korean Minister of Defense Jeong Kyeong-dooboth, the U.S. and South Korean military officials agreed to conclude the “Key Resolve” and “Foal Eagle” series of exercises.
In a statement released Saturday, the Defense Department said South Korea “made clear that the alliance decision to adapt our training program reflected our desire to reduce tension and support our diplomatic efforts to achieve complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a final, fully verified manner.”
The annual exercises are a major point of contention for North Korea. Mr. Trump previously has described the exercises — along with a separate series of drills that take place every fall — as “provocative.” Last year, the Pentagon temporarily suspended major military drills as part the president’s initial outreach to Mr. Kim.
The latest cancellation of the drills could be viewed by Pyongyang as something of an olive branch from the U.S., and suggests the administration plans to continue on its current diplomatic path.
On Sunday, Fox News’ Mr. Wallace pressed Mr. Bolton on the decision to end the annual drills and asked if the U.S. gave up a “big concession” by eliminating the exercises.
“The objective of making sure that North Korea denuclearizes is still the policy of the administration,” Mr. Bolton said. “I think our judgment right now is that time works in the favor of the president’s position as North Korea sees the effective of these sanctions taking greater effect.”
⦁ Ben Wolfgang contributed to this report.
• Lauren Toms can be reached at lmeier@washingtontimes.com.
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