When U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un first met in Singapore last year, there was pomp, there was circumstance, but there wasn't much substance.
Before they meet again in Vietnam on Feb. 27-28, there's growing pressure that they forge a deal that puts them closer to ending the North Korean nuclear weapons threat.
But what could that look like?
Kim may be willing to dismantle his main nuclear complex. The U.S. may be willing to cough up concessions, maybe remove some sanctions. The question, however, is whether what's on offer will be enough for the other side.
Here's a look at what each side could be looking for as Trump and Kim try to settle a problem that has bedeviled generations of policymakers.
DESTROYING A NUKE COMPLEX
The North's Yongbyon (sometimes spelled Nyongbyon) nuclear complex, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Pyongyang, has facilities that produce both plutonium and uranium, two key ingredients in nuclear weapons. North Korea's state media have called the complex of a reported 390 buildings ''the heart of our nuclear program.''
After a September meeting with Kim, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told reporters that Kim promised to dismantle the complex if the United States takes unspecified corresponding steps. Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, recently said that Kim also committed to the dismantlement and destruction of North Korea's plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities when he met visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last October.
Since fresh diplomatic efforts began last year, the North has suspended nuclear and missile tests and dismantled its nuclear testing site and parts of its long-range rocket launch facility. But destroying the Yonbgyon complex would be Kim's biggest disarmament step yet and would signal his resolve to move forward in negotiations with Trump.
There is worry among some, however, that the complex's destruction won't completely dispel widespread skepticism about North Korea denuclearization commitments. It would still have an estimated arsenal of as many as 70 nuclear weapons and more than 1,000 ballistic missiles. North Korea is also believed to be running multiple undisclosed uranium-enrichment facilities.
''We could call (Yongbyon's destruction) a half-deal or a small-deal,'' said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University and a former president of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea's main spy agency. ''It's really an incomplete denuclearization step'' that matches past tactics meant to slow disarmament steps so it can win a series of concessions.
U.S. REWARDS
To get the North to commit to destroying the Yongbyon complex, some experts say Trump needs to make important concessions.
Those would likely need to include jointly declaring an end of the 1950-53 Korean War, opening a liaison office in Pyongyang, allowing North Korea to restart some economic projects with South Korea and possibly easing some sanctions on the North.
Before they meet again in Vietnam on Feb. 27-28, there's growing pressure that they forge a deal that puts them closer to ending the North Korean nuclear weapons threat.
But what could that look like?
Kim may be willing to dismantle his main nuclear complex. The U.S. may be willing to cough up concessions, maybe remove some sanctions. The question, however, is whether what's on offer will be enough for the other side.
Here's a look at what each side could be looking for as Trump and Kim try to settle a problem that has bedeviled generations of policymakers.
DESTROYING A NUKE COMPLEX
The North's Yongbyon (sometimes spelled Nyongbyon) nuclear complex, located about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Pyongyang, has facilities that produce both plutonium and uranium, two key ingredients in nuclear weapons. North Korea's state media have called the complex of a reported 390 buildings ''the heart of our nuclear program.''
After a September meeting with Kim, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told reporters that Kim promised to dismantle the complex if the United States takes unspecified corresponding steps. Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, recently said that Kim also committed to the dismantlement and destruction of North Korea's plutonium and uranium enrichment facilities when he met visiting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last October.
Since fresh diplomatic efforts began last year, the North has suspended nuclear and missile tests and dismantled its nuclear testing site and parts of its long-range rocket launch facility. But destroying the Yonbgyon complex would be Kim's biggest disarmament step yet and would signal his resolve to move forward in negotiations with Trump.
There is worry among some, however, that the complex's destruction won't completely dispel widespread skepticism about North Korea denuclearization commitments. It would still have an estimated arsenal of as many as 70 nuclear weapons and more than 1,000 ballistic missiles. North Korea is also believed to be running multiple undisclosed uranium-enrichment facilities.
''We could call (Yongbyon's destruction) a half-deal or a small-deal,'' said Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University and a former president of the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea's main spy agency. ''It's really an incomplete denuclearization step'' that matches past tactics meant to slow disarmament steps so it can win a series of concessions.
U.S. REWARDS
To get the North to commit to destroying the Yongbyon complex, some experts say Trump needs to make important concessions.
Those would likely need to include jointly declaring an end of the 1950-53 Korean War, opening a liaison office in Pyongyang, allowing North Korea to restart some economic projects with South Korea and possibly easing some sanctions on the North.
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