Agreement With North Korea

December 15, 1999: Five years after the agreed framework was signed, KEDO officials sign a turnkey contract with the Korea Electric Power Corporation to begin construction of the two LWRs in Kumho, North Korea. KEDO officials attribute the delay in signing the contract to complex legal and financial challenges and the tense political climate caused by the August 1998 Taepo Dong 1 North Korean test. July 5-7, 2018: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visits Pyongyang and meets with Kim Yong Chol “to continue consultations and implement the progress of the June 12 U.S.-North Korea summit.” Pompeo called the talks “productive negotiations” and “good faith,” but the North Korean Foreign Ministry issued a statement after the visit calling the U.S. proposals “unilateral claims and predatory denuclearization” and further asserting that they “contradict the spirit of the northern United States.” Summits. Is there any hope that a negotiated solution with North Korea is possible? Is it worth a try at this point? No one knows the answer to the first question, but the attempt at agreement at this stage is absolutely necessary. Kim Jong Il is likely to continue his weapons program unless he is forced to stop or find a price to stop him that suits his needs. July 7, 2020: In an interview with Voice of America, U.S. President Donald Trump says he understands that North Korea wants to continue negotiations and that “I would if I thought it would help.” Although the current environment in South Korea allows for an interim agreement with North Korea, it is also highly politicized. In May 2019, 45% of South Koreans think the Moon administration`s North Korean policy is working well, while 43% think it`s not going well.9 However, 81% of members of Moon`s party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Korea, think its policy towards North Korea is doing well, while 83% of Liberal Democrats think it`s not going well.