- Vice President Mike Pence said that Kim Jong Un's offer to discuss denuclearization with President Donald Trump shows the US's strategy is working.
- "The North Koreans are coming to the table despite the United States making zero concessions," Pence continued.
- South Korea's president has hailed Trump's "maximum pressure" strategy as a move that helped bring Kim to the table.
Vice President Mike Pence, who has been front and center in the North Korean crisis, said on Friday that Kim Jong Un's offer to discuss denuclearization with President Donald Trump shows the US's strategy is working.
"North Korea’s desire to meet to discuss denuclearization – while suspending all ballistic missile and nuclear testing – is evidence that President Trump's strategy to isolate the Kim regime is working," read a statement from Pence.
"The North Koreans are coming to the table despite the United States making zero concessions," Pence continued.
Indeed the US has not shifted its positions at all, and still plans to go forward with joint military exercises with South Korea, which serve as a major irritant in the countries' North Korea relationship.
But while the US hasn't budged on its expectations, North Korea, via South Korean messengers, has seemingly caved on the most important issues by agreeing to discuss dismantling their nuclear program and suspending missile and nuclear tests for the duration of the talks.
Experts, and Trump himself, remain skeptical that North Korea's desire to denuclearize is legitimate, and the Kim government may be using the talks to try to wriggle out of sanctions and drive a wedge between the US and South Korea.
Pence stressed that the US would not let up on North Korea despite the friendly gesture, saying "all sanctions remain in place and the maximum pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes concrete, permanent, and verifiable steps to end their nuclear program."
But no US president has ever agreed to meet face-to-face with any North Korean leader, and the especially vicious Kim Jong Un seemed an unlikely candidate for talks just months ago.
South Korea's President Moon Jae In has praised Trump's role in facilitating the talks, and expressed hope that they may result in some historic advancement towards peace and disarmament on the Korean Peninsula.
Here's Pence's full statement:
North Korea's desire to meet to discuss denuclearization – while suspending all ballistic missile and nuclear testing – is evidence that President Trump's strategy to isolate the Kim regime is working. The North Koreans are coming to the table despite the United States making zero concessions and, in close coordination with our allies, we have consistently increased the pressure on the Kim regime. Our resolve is undeterred and our policy remains the same: all sanctions remain in place and the maximum pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes concrete, permanent, and verifiable steps to end their nuclear program.
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