North Korea’s Ruling Party Informs Members That Kim Regime Will Not Give Up Nukes

There is more evidence today that President Kim Jong Un has no intention to dismantle N. Korea's nuclear weapons program. As we have said before in these pages, Kim and N. Korea's leadership view those weapons as their most effective deterrence to US intervention. But their nuclear stockpile is also their primary bargaining chip. They would agree to reduce or "freeze" their program in return for a substantial reduction in sanctions and economic assistance. That remains their strategy notwithstanding their promises to President Trump.

Radio Free Asia: "The Central Committee of the ruling Workers’ Party has decreed that North Korea will not relinquish its nuclear arsenal, which it termed a “precious legacy” of the country’s late leaders, according to local sources, despite an earlier pledge by party chairman Kim Jong Un to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula."

"Kim held historic talks with South Korea’s Moon Jae-in in April, as well as an unprecedented summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in June, and agreed—in principle—to abandoning the North’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for promises of regime security and economic prosperity."

"But a lack of any concrete agreement on steps to denuclearize and recent reports that progress on talks have slowed, combined with indications that North Korea’s ally China has continued to send fuel into the country to ease economic strains caused by international sanctions, have prompted questions over how sincere Pyongyang is about abandoning its weaponry."

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