US to give DPRK post-summit timeline with 'asks'

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The United States will soon present a timeline to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) with "specific asks" of Pyongyang after a historic summit between US President Donald Trump and DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un, a senior US defense official said.

The official, who spoke to a small group of reporters ahead of a trip to Asia this week by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, did not specify details but suggested that the timeline would be rapid enough to make clear Pyongyang's level of commitment.

"We'll know pretty soon if they're going to operate in good faith or not," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

DPRK's leader Kim Jong Un observes the launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile in Pyongyang on Aug. 29, 2017, its official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on August 30. /VCG Photo

"There will be specific asks and there will be a specific timeline when we present the North Koreans (DPRK) with our concept of what implementation of the summit agreement looks like."

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week he would likely travel back to Pyongyang "before too terribly long" to try to flesh out commitments made at the June 12 summit in Singapore between Trump and Kim.

At the Singapore summit, the first meeting between a serving US president and a DPRK leader, Kim reaffirmed a commitment to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, while Trump said he would halt joint the military exercise between Washington and Seoul.

Mattis, at the start of a week-long trip that includes stops in China, the Republic of Korea and Japan, said Trump's guidance on suspending military drills applied not just to the major Freedom Guardian exercise in August but also to two smaller Korean Marine Exchange Program training exercises.

(R-L) Japan's Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera, US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis and ROK's Defence Minister Song Young-moo attend a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the IISS Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore, June 3, 2018. /VCG Photo

Mattis has said that he was optimistic that the DPRK would soon hand over the remains of US servicemen killed during the 1950-1953 Korean war.

Mattis yesterday noted that DPRK leader Kim Jong Un committed to doing so in his June 12 meeting with President Donald Trump on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

He said that the United Nations Command in the Republic of Korea (ROK) is standing by to receive the remains.

"We simply are standing by for whenever the diplomatic activities are done,"he told journalists.

"We are optimistic that it will begin," he added, because Kim agreed to it.

Commander of the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), and United States Forces Korea (USFK), US Gen. Vincent Brooks speaks during an event to commemorate the 63rd Anniversary of the Korean War Armistice Agreement in the the Joint Security Area on July 27, 2016 in Panmunjom, ROK. /VCG Photo

The Pentagon says Pyongyang has indicated several times that they have as many as 200 sets of remains that could be those of US soldiers who died in the war.

But Pentagon officials cautioned that it is unclear just how much DPRK is preparing to hand over.

Chinese Defense Ministry also confirmed Mattis' trip from June 26-28. He is scheduled to meet with Chinese leaders and senior defense officials, the ministry said in a statement on Monday. It will be a US defense secretary's first visit to China since 2014.

The DPRK issue is expected to be among the main topics on Mattis' agenda during his talks with senior Chinese officials. He will then travel to the ROK and will conclude his trip with talks in Japan on June 29.

Source(s): Reuters