{"id":66610,"date":"2018-03-11T16:24:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-11T16:24:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/03\/11\/us-officials-say-no-added-conditions-for-north-korea-talks\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:22:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:22:24","slug":"us-officials-say-no-added-conditions-for-north-korea-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/11\/us-officials-say-no-added-conditions-for-north-korea-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"US officials say no added conditions for North Korea talks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trump administration officials said Sunday there will be no more conditions imposed on North Korea<\/a> before a first-ever meeting of the two nation\u2019s leaders<\/a> beyond the North\u2019s promise not to resume nuclear testing and missile flights<\/a> or publicly criticize U.S.-South Korean military exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The officials\u2019 comments followed the surprise announcement last week that President Donald Trump has agreed to meet the North\u2019s Kim Jong Un by May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis potential meeting has been agreed to, there are no additional conditions being stipulated, but, again they \u2014 they cannot engage in missile testing, they cannot engage in nuclear testing and they can\u2019t publicly object to the U.S.-South Korea planned military exercises,\u201d deputy White House spokesman Raj Shah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This Aug. 29, 2017, file photo distributed on Aug. 30, 2017, by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the test launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate range missile in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the summit would give Trump a chance \u201cto sit down and see if he can cut a deal\u201d with Kim over the North\u2019s nuclear program. \u201cThe president has been very clear in what the objective is here. And that is to get rid of nuclear weapons on the (Korean) peninsula,\u201d Mnuchin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The administration officials credited toughened economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations, and pushed by the United States, with helping bring Kim to the brink of negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur policy is pressure, is pressure from our partners and allies around the world, pressure to the United Nations, pressure through China, these have had an impact. It\u2019s impacted Kim Jong Un\u2019s behavior. It\u2019s impacted his conduct,\u201d Shah said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But some members of Congress said they worry that Trump acted impulsively in agreeing to meet with Kim, before negotiators for both countries had a chance to set some goals the leaders could agree to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the important thing is the diplomatic work that has to go in before such a meeting. A meeting like that would be kind of an afterthought after things are negotiated. Here it looks as if, you know, that\u2019s kind of the opening gambit. And that\u2019s a little worrisome,\u201d said Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a frequent Trump critic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In this Sept. 19, 2017, file photo, President Donald Trump addresses the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters. (Richard Drew\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. and South Korea hold military maneuvers every year. They were postponed during the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea. They are expected to be held in April, but no official announcement has been made about when they will take place. In an interview en route to the Middle East, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis declined to discuss the timing and scale of the exercises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mattis wouldn\u2019t talk at all about the diplomatic push over North Korea\u2019s nuclear program. \u201cWhen you get in a position like this, the potential for misunderstanding remains very high,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t