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Historic Meeting in Singapore Marks a Change in Relations Between the United States and North Korea and Generates a North Korean Commitment to Work Toward Denuclearization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 October 2018

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North Korea's Chairman, Kim Jong Un, agreed to work toward the Korean peninsula's denuclearization at a Singapore summit meeting with President Trump on June 12, 2018. The encounter marked the first time in history that the president of the United States and the leader of North Korea have met in person. It came after an intense year and a half of interactions between the two countries, including the exchange of nuclear-laced military threats, the imposition of new sanctions by the United States and the UN Security Council, and, eventually, a touch of détente. Since the meeting occurred, North Korea has taken several steps consistent with commitments it made, including returning remains said to be those of American service members, refraining from missile launches, and beginning to dismantle its testing facilities. Also since the meeting occurred, the United States has suspended its usual joint military exercises with South Korea, consistent with a statement made by Trump at the summit, while leaving in place existing sanctions against North Korea.

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Type
Use of Force, Arms Control, and Nonproliferation
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 112 , Issue 4 , October 2018 , pp. 763 - 770
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by The American Society of International Law 

North Korea's Chairman, Kim Jong Un, agreed to work toward the Korean peninsula's denuclearization at a Singapore summit meeting with President Trump on June 12, 2018. The encounter marked the first time in history that the president of the United States and the leader of North Korea have met in person. It came after an intense year and a half of interactions between the two countries, including the exchange of nuclear-laced military threats, the imposition of new sanctions by the United States and the UN Security Council, and, eventually, a touch of détente. Since the meeting occurred, North Korea has taken several steps consistent with commitments it made, including returning remains said to be those of American service members, refraining from missile launches, and beginning to dismantle its testing facilities. Also since the meeting occurred, the United States has suspended its usual joint military exercises with South Korea, consistent with a statement made by Trump at the summit, while leaving in place existing sanctions against North Korea.

U.S. efforts toward a denuclearized North Korea can be traced back to 1994, when the two countries reached an agreement whereby the United States would provide a light-water reactor power plant in exchange for North Korea's commitment to refrain from further nuclear development.Footnote 1 Beginning in 1998, the United States began to doubt whether North Korea was fulfilling its commitment, and the agreement eventually broke down.Footnote 2 In 2005, at the time of a review conference for the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), North Korea declared that it had nuclear weapons.Footnote 3 By this time, North Korea had announced its withdrawal from the NPT and expelled international inspectors.Footnote 4 Following the announcement, the United States began a series of “on-again, off-again efforts,” known as the Six-Party talks, to negotiate North Korea's denuclearization.Footnote 5 In a joint statement at one of the talks, North Korea “committed to abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs and returning, at an early date to the” NPT.Footnote 6 North Korea continued developing its nuclear program,Footnote 7 and the Six-Party talks ended in 2009.Footnote 8 In subsequent years—during which time Kim Jong Un succeeded his father to power—the Obama administration worked to increase international sanctions on North Korea, which continued to build its nuclear weapons program.Footnote 9

Shortly after Trump came to office, his administration pursued a “pressure campaign of economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea” to encourage it to negotiate its “complete, verifiable, and irreversible” denuclearization with the United States.Footnote 10 South Korea also committed to this campaign.Footnote 11 After a year that involved escalating military threats between Trump and Kim, numerous new Security Council resolutions placing sanctions against North Korea, and North Korea's test-firing a ballistic missile that it claimed could send a nuclear warhead to any U.S. city, hostility between the two countries continued into 2018.Footnote 12

In January, Trump reacted to Kim's comments that a “[n]uclear button is on [Kim's] desk at all times” by asking on Twitter if “someone from his depleted and food starved regime [could] please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”Footnote 13 Rex Tillerson, then the secretary of state, explained that Trump's tweet reflected the U.S. position that its “diplomatic efforts are backed by a strong military option if necessary.”Footnote 14 Later that month, Tillerson warned that if North Korea “[did] not choose the pathway of engagement, discussion, negotiation, then they themselves will trigger an option.”Footnote 15 Shortly after Tillerson's warning, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions targeting entities and individuals involved in financing or supporting North Korea's government.Footnote 16 The rising hostilities between the two countries sparked debate among scholars about the extent to which Trump could use military force against North Korea on the grounds of anticipatory self-defense.Footnote 17

North Korea continued to show no signs of denuclearization and, in February, Vice President Pence announced that the United States would continue to intensify its campaign against North Korea by imposing “the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever.”Footnote 18 Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin announced these sanctions at the end of the month as the “largest set of sanctions ever imposed in connection with North Korea.”Footnote 19 The sanctions targeted “27 entities, 28 vessels, and 1 individual, all involved in sanctions evasions schemes.”Footnote 20 These new sanctions were sparked by North Korea's illicit trade and illegal ship-to-ship transfers, and the Department of the Treasury released images of these activities in conjunction with the imposition of the sanctions.Footnote 21 After the sanctions were announced, Trump again alluded to military action against North Korea when he warned that the United States would have to go to “phase two” if the sanctions did not work, which “may be a very rough thing” and “very, very unfortunate for the world.”Footnote 22

Relations between the United States and North Korea began to shift in March when North Korea announced that it would be willing to discuss “issues of mutual concern” with the United States if there were no “preconditions” for the talks.Footnote 23 This announcement came after President Moon Jae-in of South Korea met with senior North Korean officials at the close of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to discuss possible dialogue.Footnote 24 A few days after North Korea's announcement, South Korea's National Security Advisor, Chung Eui-Yong, visited the White House to communicate to Trump that Kim wanted to meet with him to discuss denuclearization and that the chairman pledged to “refrain from any further nuclear or missile tests.”Footnote 25 Trump immediately accepted,Footnote 26 making him the first sitting U.S. president to agree to meet with the leader of North Korea.Footnote 27

North Korea announced in the following month that it would suspend its nuclear and missile test program and shut down its nuclear testing site.Footnote 28 On April 27, Kim crossed onto the South Korean side of the demilitarized zone in the village of Panmunjom, where he signed a joint statement with Moon that they would work toward the peninsula's denuclearization.Footnote 29 Despite suspicion among some officials in the White House regarding North Korea's intentions,Footnote 30 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to North Korea to establish a date and location for the meeting,Footnote 31 maintaining that the United States would not relieve economic pressure on North Korea until denuclearization was fully achieved.Footnote 32 At the end of his trip, North Korea released three U.S. citizens whom it was holding in custody.Footnote 33

After some intervening uncertainty—including a temporary cancellationFootnote 34—Trump and Kim met in Singapore on June 12.Footnote 35 Trump complimented Kim as “very talented,” “[v]ery smart,” and a “[v]ery good negotiator” and called the meeting “honest, direct, and productive.”Footnote 36 They issued a joint statement agreeing to a set of commitments:

President Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, and Chairman Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Convinced that the establishment of new U.S.–DPRK relations will contribute to the peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and of the world, and recognizing that mutual confidence building can promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un state the following:

  1. 1. The United States and the DPRK commit to establish new U.S.–DPRK relations in accordance with the desire of the peoples of the two countries for peace and prosperity.

  2. 2. The United States and the DPRK will join their efforts to build a lasting and stable peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

  3. 3. Reaffirming the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration, the DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

  4. 4. The United States and the DPRK commit to recovering POW/MIA remains, including the immediate repatriation of those already identified.

… President Trump and Chairman Kim Jong Un commit to implement the stipulations in this joint statement fully and expeditiously. The United States and the DPRK commit to hold follow-on negotiations, led by the U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, and a relevant high-level DPRK official, at the earliest possible date, to implement the outcomes of the U.S.–DPRK summit.Footnote 37

After signing the document, Trump held a press conference discussing the negotiations:

Chairman Kim has told me that North Korea is already destroying a major missile engine testing site. That's not in your signed document; we agreed to that after the agreement was signed. That's a big thing—for the missiles that they were testing, the site is going to be destroyed very soon.

Today is the beginning of an arduous process. Our eyes are wide open, but peace is always worth the effort, especially in this case. …

…

In the meantime, the sanctions will remain in effect. …Footnote 38

Trump also confirmed that a verification process for North Korea's denuclearization would be implemented but did not give a timetable for the commitments made in the agreement.Footnote 39 Trump announced that in addition to the agreement, military exercises with South Korea, known as “war games,” would not continue.Footnote 40 The war games are a long-standing practice used to prepare forces from the United States and South Korea for war with North Korea.Footnote 41

Around the world, foreign officials praised the agreement. Moon described it as a “great victory achieved by both the United States and the two Koreas, and a huge step forward for people across the world who long for peace.”Footnote 42 Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called the agreement a “dramatic step forward.”Footnote 43 Through his spokesperson, the UN secretary-general welcomed the summit “as an important milestone in the advancement of sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.”Footnote 44

On Trump's way back from the summit, he tweeted that “[t]here is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”Footnote 45 Pompeo traveled to North Korea in the beginning of July to discuss how the commitments between the United States and North Korea would be carried out,Footnote 46 but he has stated that sanctions and economic pressure will not be relieved prior to full denuclearization.Footnote 47 Pompeo has sought assurances from other countries, such as Vietnam, that they will enforce existing Security Council sanctions against North Korea.Footnote 48 In July, the United States called for the cessation of oil transfers to North Korea, stating that its annual cap had been exceeded and any more transfers would violate the Security Council sanctions.Footnote 49

As of early September 2018, North Korea has taken several steps relevant to its summit commitments. Using satellite imagery, analysts say North Korea has begun dismantling its testing facilities at its satellite launch station.Footnote 50 On July 26 and August 2, North Korea returned remains of what were said to be American service members.Footnote 51 And Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley mentioned at the end of July that North Korea has not fired a missile in nine months.Footnote 52 Although North Korea has been taking steps toward the fulfillment of its summit commitments, it considers the United States to not be living up to its commitment of improved relations.Footnote 53 According to a recent statement by North Korea's foreign minister, Ri Yong-ho, North Korea interpreted this commitment to include more immediate steps to reduce economic pressure and sanctions.Footnote 54

Pompeo has stated that moving forward he wants to “engage[] in patient diplomacy” and “will not let this drag out to no end,” even though North Korea's possible denuclearization could be a slow process.Footnote 55 The sanctions that existed at the time of the summit have remained in place.Footnote 56 Questioned about why North Korean denuclearization is not moving faster, Trump remarked, “I left 3 months ago. We got our hostages back. There's no more missiles flying over Japan. There's no rockets going up. There's no nuclear testing. And we have a good relationship with North Korea. So we'll see how it works.”Footnote 57 North Korea now demands that the United States declare that the Korean War is over before it will provide disclosures to the United States about its atomic weapons, nuclear production facilities, and missiles.Footnote 58 Trump had previously stated that the United States will sign a peace treaty ending the Korean War “at the appropriate time … a little bit further down the road.”Footnote 59

In late August 2018, the Trump administration announced that it was cancelling a planned trip by the U.S. Secretary of State to North Korea because of insufficient progress on the issue of denuclearization.Footnote 60 Shortly thereafter, the U.S. executive branch sent conflicting signals about whether future war games would be suspended, with Trump ultimately emphasizing that “the President believes that his relationship with Kim Jong Un is a very good and warm one, and there is no reason at this time to be spending large amounts of money on joint U.S.-South Korea war games.”Footnote 61 In early September, the Trump administration revealed that Kim had requested a second summit meeting, “which we are open to and are already in the process of coordinating.”Footnote 62

References

1 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, U.S. Relations with North Korea, at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm [https://perma.cc/3EU5-WCQJ] [hereinafter U.S. Relations with North Korea]; Sean Murphy, D., Contemporary Practice of the United States, 93 AJIL 908, 908–09 (1999)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

2 See Murphy, supra note 1, at 909 (recounting the beginnings of this breakdown).

3 Crook, John R., Contemporary Practice of the United States, 99 AJIL 715, 716 (2005)Google Scholar.

4 Id. at 717. North Korea had become a party to the NPT in 1985. International Atomic Energy Agency, Fact Sheet on DPRK Nuclear Safeguards, at https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/focus/dprk/fact-sheet-on-dprk-nuclear-safeguards.

5 Crook, John R., Contemporary Practice of the United States, 99 AJIL 914, 915 (2005)Google Scholar.

6 Id. at 915–16.

7 See generally Crook, John R., Contemporary Practice of the United States, 101 AJIL 216 (2007)Google Scholar.

8 U.S. Relations with North Korea, supra note 1.

9 David E. Sanger, Choe Sang-Hun & Jane Perlez, A Big Blast in North Korea, and Big Questions on U.S. Policy, N.Y. Times (Sept. 9, 2016), at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/10/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-test.html.

10 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Remarks at the UN Security Council Ministerial Meeting on DPRK (Dec. 15, 2017), at https://translations.state.gov/2017/12/15/remarks-by-secretary-of-state-rex-tillerson-to-the-un-security-council-on-north-korea [https://perma.cc/W7H7-LLNB].

11 White House Press Release, President Donald J. Trump's Visit to the Republic of Korea (Nov. 8, 2017), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-visit-republic-korea [https://perma.cc/L4QP-R4MJ].

12 For a more in-depth account of the rising tensions between the United States and North Korea leading up to 2018, see Galbraith, Jean, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 112 AJIL 95 (2018)Google Scholar.

13 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (Jan. 2, 2018, 4:49 PM), at https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/948355557022420992.

14 Interview by Elise Labott with Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State, United States of America (Jan. 5, 2018), available at https://kr.usembassy.gov/010518-secretary-tillersons-interview-with-elise-labott-of-cnn [https://perma.cc/D4WJ-W9FX].

15 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Remarks with Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland at a Press Availability (Jan. 16, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/20172018tillerson/remarks/2018/01/277481.htm [https://perma.cc/7FRB-KFHQ].

16 U.S. Dep't of the Treas. Press Release, Treasury Sanctions North Korean Overseas Representatives, Shipping Companies, and Chinese Entities Supporting the Kim Regime (Jan. 24, 2018), at https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sm0257 [https://perma.cc/2GSZ-NYK6]. These sanctions came in response to photos that were taken showing suspected illicit transfers between North Korean and foreign vessels. Carol Morello, U.S. Imposes Sanctions on North Korean Ships Suspected of Smuggling Goods, Wash. Post (Jan. 24, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-sanctions-north-korean-ships-suspected-of-smuggling-goods/2018/01/24/065cb8a2-011b-11e8-bb03-722769454f82_story.html.

17 See, e.g., Waxman, Matthew, War, Threats of Force, and Law: Thoughts on North Korea, Lawfare (Feb. 1, 2018)Google Scholar, at https://www.lawfareblog.com/war-threats-force-and-law-thoughts-north-korea (“Some advocates stress that the law should be sufficiently permissive and flexible to allow the United States to address militarily the North Korean menace (or cases involving other nuclear proliferators), while others stress that it should be sufficiently constraining and rigid to help prevent unnecessary and catastrophic war.”).

18 White House Press Release, Remarks by Vice President Pence and Prime Minister Abe of Japan in Joint Statements (Feb. 7, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-vice-president-pence-prime-minister-abe-japan-joint-statements [https://perma.cc/CTZ8-ACF9].

19 White House Press Release, Press Briefing by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on North Korea Sanctions (Feb. 23, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-treasury-secretary-steven-mnuchin-north-korea-sanctions/ [https://perma.cc/QKR3-WPKX].

20 Id.

21 Id.

22 Trump, Donald J., The President's News Conference with Prime Minister Malcolm B. Turnbull of Australia, at 8, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 114 (Feb. 23, 2018)Google Scholar.

23 Choe Sang-Hun, North Korea, Seeking “Equal Footing,” Rejects Preconditions for U.S. Talks, N.Y. Times (Mar. 3, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/03/world/asia/north-korea-nuclear-talks.html.

24 Rick Noack, Within 3 Months, Trump's Dealings with North Korea and Iran have Antagonized: Russia, China, Germany, France, Japan, Britain, Austria, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, South Korea […], Wash. Post (May 25, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/world/wp/2018/05/25/within-3-months-trumps-dealings-with-north-korea-and-iran-have-antagonized-russia-china-germany-france-japan-britain-austria-italy-belgium-the-netherlands-denmark-sweden-spain-slovaki (more generally providing a detailed timeline of events leading up the summit meeting).

25 White House Press Release, Remarks by Republic of Korea National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong (Mar. 8, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-republic-korea-national-security-advisor-chung-eui-yong [https://perma.cc/4J3D-HH7U].

26 Id.

27 Tessa Berenson, Why Trump's Predecessors Did Not Meet with North Korea, Time (Mar. 9, 2018), at http://time.com/5192579/trump-meets-kim-jong-un-north-korea.

28 Anna Fifield, North Korea Says It Will Suspend Nuclear and Missile Tests, Shut Down Test Site, Wash. Post (Apr. 20, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/north-korean-leader-suspends-nuclear-and-missile-tests-shuts-down-test-site/2018/04/20/71ff2eea-44e7-11e8-baaf-8b3c5a3da888_story.html.

29 Choe Sang-Hun, North and South Korea Set Bold Goals: A Final Peace and No Nuclear Arms, N.Y. Times (Apr. 27, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/27/world/asia/north-korea-south-kim-jong-un.html.

30 David Nakamura & John Hudson, White House Privately Skeptical of North Korea's Plans to Freeze Nuclear Testing, Wash. Post (Apr. 21, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-privately-skeptical-of-north-koreas-plans-to-freeze-nuclear-testing/2018/04/21/ab64980e-4583-11e8-8569-26fda6b404c7_story.html (reporting that White House aides were suspicious that North Korea was only trying to receive economic sanction relief when requesting a meeting with the United States).

31 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Remarks to the Traveling Press (May 8, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/05/281944.htm [https://perma.cc/9LXU-QCSG] [hereinafter Pompeo's Trip to North Korea]. The date and location were set for June 12 in Singapore. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (May 10, 2018, 7:37 AM), at https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/994587349718847489 [https://perma.cc/C2VL-2AB9].

32 Pompeo's Trip to North Korea, supra note 31 (“We're not going to relieve sanctions until such time as we achieved our objectives.”).

33 Cheng, Jonathan & Bender, Michael, North Korea Frees Three U.S. Citizens, Wall St. J. (May 9, 2018)Google Scholar, at https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-pyongyang-pompeo-expresses-hope-about-working-with-north-korea-1525848842.

34 For details, see Anna Fifield, North Korea Says It's Up to U.S. Whether They Meet at a Table or in a “Nuclear Showdown,” Wash. Post. (May 23, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/north-korea-says-its-up-to-us-whether-they-meet-at-a-table-or-in-anuclear-showdown/2018/05/23/45f97960-5ee9-11e8-8c93-8cf33c21da8d_story.html; Trump, Donald J., Letter to Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un of North Korea, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 371 (May 24)Google Scholar; Choe Sang-Hun, North Korea Says It Will Give Trump “Time and Opportunity” to Reconsider, N.Y. Times (May 24, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/24/world/asia/north-korea-trump-reconsider.html; Donald J. Trump, Remarks Following a Meeting with Vice Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Yong Chol North Korea and an Exchange with Reporters, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 392 (June 1, 2018).

35 Trump, Donald J., The President's News Conference on Sentosa Island, Singapore, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 423 (June 12, 2018)Google Scholar [hereinafter Trump Press Conference].

36 Id.

37 Donald J. Trump, Joint Statement by President Trump and Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un of North Korea, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 422 (June 12, 2018).

38 Trump Press Conference, supra note 35, at 2.

39 Id.

40 Id. at 3. (“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should.”).

41 Daniel Flatley & Anthony Capaccio, Trump Suspends South Korea “War Games” in Bet Kim Can Be Trusted, Bloomberg (June 12, 2018), at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-12/trump-suspends-south-korea-war-games-in-bet-kim-can-be-trusted.

42 White House Press Release, WTAS: Support for President Donald J. Trump's Summit with North Korea (June 12, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/wtas-support-president-donald-j-trumps-summit-north-korea [https://perma.cc/P7RB-S2K6].

43 Id.

44 Id.

45 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (June 13, 2018, 2:56 AM), at https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1006837823469735936. Congress has been more hesitant in accepting that there is no longer a North Korean nuclear threat. It recently passed, and Trump signed into law, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019. H.R. 5515, 115th Cong. (2018) (listed as Pub. L. No. 115–232). Regarding North Korea, the act restricts reductions of active-duty U.S. service members below 22,000 in South Korea, subject to a waiver through certification by the secretary of defense that certain conditions have been met, and mandates executive branch reporting to Congress regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Pub. L. 115–232 at §§ 1264, 1265, _ Stat. _ (2018). In his signing statement, Trump indicated his view that these provisions might unconstitutionally intrude on exclusive presidential powers under certain circumstances. Donald J. Trump, Statement on Signing the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 533 (Aug. 13) (interpreting the certification requirement for troop reduction to “encompass only actions for which such advance certification or notification is feasible and consistent” with the president's commander-in-chief powers and stating that the reporting requirement may be limited by various presidential privileges with respect to the disclosure of information).

46 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo Remarks to Traveling Press (July 7, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/07/283878.htm [https://perma.cc/7AHE-F34J].

47 See, e.g., Rick Gladstone & Satoshi Sugiyama, Pompeo, at U.N., Says North Korean Leader Must Keep Vow to Denuclearize, N.Y. Times (July 20, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/20/world/asia/pompeo-haley-north-korea.html. Trump has similarly stated that “[t]he sanctions will come off when [they] are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor.” Trump Press Conference, supra note 35.

48 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Secretary Pompeo's Meeting with Vietnamese Leaders (July 9, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/07/283897.htm [https://perma.cc/322C-L7PS]. Pompeo delivered similar messages to officials representing other countries that are part of the ASEAN Regional Forum. See U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Previewing Secretary Pompeo's Upcoming Trip to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Jakarta (July 31, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/07/284840.htm [https://perma.cc/2Q3W-6L4E]; U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, Press Availability with Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, and Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne (July 24, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/07/284471.htm [https://perma.cc/9DS4-NRZE].

49 Carol Morello, U.S. Urges U.N. to Halt All Oil Transfers to North Korea, Wash. Post (July 12, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-urges-un-to-halt-all-oil-transfers-to-north-korea/2018/07/12/db70a144-85e5-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html.

50 Adam Taylor, North Korea Begins Dismantling Key Test Site, Satellite Imagery Suggests, Wash. Post (July 23, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/07/23/north-korea-begins-dismantling-key-test-site-satellite-imagery-suggests.

51 White House Press Release, Statement from the Press Secretary on the Repatriation of Remains from North Korea (July 26, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-press-secretary-repatriation-remains-north-korea [https://perma.cc/6WEZ-4BMM]; White House Press Release, In Photos: 65 Years Later, Fallen American Soldiers of the Korean War Come Home (Aug. 2, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/photos-65-years-later-fallen-american-soldiers-korean-war-come-home [https://perma.cc/L58E-PADA]. Although North Korea and the Trump administration announced that the remains of fallen American service members were returned, forensic labs in Hawaii are studying the remains to ensure they are in fact fallen American soldiers. See Interview by Tara Copp with Jim Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Military Times (July 27, 2018), at https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2018/07/27/how-will-the-us-know-the-war-remains-north-korea-sent-are-real-qa-with-mattis. As of mid-September 2018, two identifications of American soldiers have been made. First Remains Identified from Remains Returned by North Korea, BBC News (Sept. 21, 2018).

52 White House Press Release, Press Gaggle by Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley (July 31, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-gaggle-deputy-press-secretary-hogan-gidley-073118 [https://perma.cc/YPR6-837W].

53 Choe Sang-Hun, U.S. Isn't Holding Up Its End of Nuclear Deal, North Korean Envoy Charges, N.Y. Times (Aug. 4, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/04/world/asia/north-korea-us-nuclear-deal.html.

54 Id. (noting that after Pompeo's July visit, North Korea complained of a “‘unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization’” by the United States).

55 U.S. Dep't of State Press Release, An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy (July 25, 2018), at https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2018/07/284487.htm [https://perma.cc/2Q2Q-DB43].

56 For a collective list of sanctions, see U.S. Dep't of the Treas., North Korea Sanctions, at https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/pages/nkorea.aspx [https://perma.cc/W8BL-YRGB].

57 Donald J. Trump, Remarks Prior to a Dinner with Business Leaders and an Exchange with Reporters in Bedminster, New Jersey, at 11, 2018 Daily Comp. Pres. Doc. No. 527 (Aug. 7, 2018).

58 David E. Sanger & William J. Broad, Once “No Longer a Nuclear Threat,” North Korea Now in Standoff with U.S., N.Y. Times (Aug. 10, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/us/politics/north-korea-denuclearize-peace-treaty.html.

59 Trump Press Conference, supra note 35, at 6.

60 See Mark Landler & Gardiner Harris, Trump Asks Pompeo to Cancel North Korea Trip, Pointing to Stalled Diplomacy, N.Y. Times (Aug. 24, 2018), at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/us/politics/pompeo-north-korea-trip.html.

61 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter (Aug. 29, 2018, 2:23 PM), at https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1034914371099676674; see also Paul Sonne, Trump Says U.S. Shouldn't Be Spending Money on “War Games” with South Korea, Wash. Post (Aug. 29, 2018), at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/pentagon-no-decisions-made-about-suspending-future-exercises-with-south-korea/2018/08/29/08cf70da-abab-11e8-8f4b-aee063e14538_story.html?utm_term=.957e4038b7a1 (describing how these tweets came after the secretary of defense had stated that “there are ongoing exercises all the tie on the peninsula” and that “no decisions have been made about suspending any future exercises”).

62 White House Press Release, Press Briefing by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and CEA Chairman Kevin Hassett (Sept. 10, 2018), at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/press-briefing-press-secretary-sarah-sanders-cea-chairman-kevin-hassett-091018/ [https://perma.cc/WC8X-QE9Q].