SEOUL/BEIJING -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping that a reliable prior guarantee by the United States of the North's regime is a prerequisite for the North to abolish nuclear weapons, diplomatic sources revealed to The Yomiuri Shimbun.
According to diplomatic sources with knowledge of the March 26 summit, the chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea said to Xi, "If the United States reliably guarantees our regime and we can receive full-scale compensation for nuclear abolishment, we will be able to abolish nuclear weapons completely."
Kim also presented his idea to urge U.S. President Donald Trump to normalize diplomatic relations and establish an embassy in Pyongyang.
After the summit, the Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Kim said "progressive and synchronous measures" are required for denuclearization.
However, Kim's remarks made his position clear that a reliable guarantee of the regime, the lifting of sanctions and large-scale economic assistance, among others, be provided beforehand, not simultaneously.
According to diplomatic sources, Kim said, "If the United States comes forward sincerely for talks, [the North] is ready to take a position that is more proactive and open toward the inspection and verification of nuclear abolishment than [the North] was during the U.S.-North Korean Agreed Framework in 1994 and the joint statement of the six-party talks in 2005."
Kim also said, "Depending on the talks with the United States, the period until denuclearization can be shortened as much as desired," according to the sources.
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