Some doubt the disavowal
John Bolton angrily dismissed the idea when it appeared in a recent New York Times article and was critical of the paper for even suggesting such an idea. However, other official including top negotiator Steve Biegun have confirmed that the US not only wants a freeze, but is willing to make concessions to get it. Biegun was speaking off the record, while both Bolton’s denial and that of the State Department were quite public.
Failure of the Bolton hard line
The hard line program of Bolton and other hawks that refuses to grant any concessions on sanctions has gone nowhere. The Hanoi Summit last February at which the US took that position failed and ended early: “The 2019 North Korea–United States Hanoi Summit, commonly known as the Hanoi Summit, was a two-day summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27–28, 2019. This was the second meeting between the leaders of the DPRK and the United States, following the first meeting in June 2018 in Singapore.”
On February 28, 2019, the White House announced that the summit was cut short and that no agreement was reached. Trump later elaborated that it was because North Korea wanted an end to all sanctions. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho asserted that the country only sought a partial lifting of five United Nations sanctions placed on North Korea between 2016 and 2017. ”
The nuclear freeze would be part of a broader deal
Officials made it clear that denuclearization was considered only as part of a large deal not a substitute for one. Perhaps it would be part of several steps to reach a final deal. It would provide a breakthrough in stalled negotiations. This is made clear on the appended video. However, officials noted that there would be some relief for North Korea in return for the freeze. This position makes sense and allows for continuing negotiations. The hard line position offers nothing to North Korea unless it gives up all its bargaining chips and is unlikely to be successful. Of course this may be exactly what Bolton and other hard line hawks want. There is an obvious split between the hawks and others in the White House.
