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White House National Security Advisor John Bolton appears on Fox News on Aug. 5. (Fox News screenshot)
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White House National Security Advisor stresses importance of maintaining sanctions
White House National Security Advisor John Bolton has appeared on television for three consecutive days to pressure North Korea to adopt measures toward denuclearization. The so-called “super hawk,” who had temporarily moved in the background after his remarks about the “Libyan model” drew a backlash from Pyongyang ahead of a June 12 North Korea-US summit in Singapore, now appears to be taking the foreground again to turn the screws on the North amid the current stalemate. “[North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un pledged that [denuclearization] to South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Panmunjeom on April 27. He pledged it to President Trump on Singapore on June 12, and we're still waiting for them to take real steps towards denuclearization,” Bolton said in an Aug. 7 appearance on Fox News. Stressing that North Korea was being asked for action, he added, “The United States has lived up to the Singapore declaration. It’s just North Korea that has not taken the steps we feel are necessary to denuclearize.” Bolton also stressed the importance of keeping sanctions in place, adding that the US would not consider lifting sanctions based solely on what North Korea has said about denuclearization. He went on to say that “maximum pressure” would continue until denuclearization happens. In a Fox News Business interview the same day, Bolton commented on claims that North Korean coal was smuggled into South Korea, sharing the details of a telephone conversation he had had that morning with Blue House National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong and once again stressing the importance of sanctions. According to Bolton, Chung provided an explanation on the current investigation into the coal smuggling allegations. Bolton’s pressure campaign against North Korea was also on display in appearances on Fox News, CNN, and PBS on Aug. 5 and 6, where he stressed that the US’s priority was North Korea’s denuclearization. Bolton also revealed that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was preparing for a fourth visit to North Korea. Explaining that Pompeo’s visit had been proposed by President Donald Trump in a letter to Kim on Aug. 4, Bolton added that Pompeo was prepared to meet with Kim. The specification of Kim as the figure Pompeo would be meeting appears to reflect Washington’s determination that no program was made in previous denuclearization discussions during Pompeo’s third visit on July 6–7 because he did not meet with the North Korean leader at the time. Meanwhile, the US-based North Korea site 38 North observed that dismantlement efforts that began last month at North Korea’s West Sea satellite launch site at Tongchang Village, North Pyongan Province, appeared to be still under way. Based on a comparison of satellite images taken on Aug. 3 with images from last month, the site concluded that North Koreans appeared to be tearing down the steel base structure at the vertical engine test stand and removing fuel and oxidizer tanks from dismantled bunkers. By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
