Speaking at a nuclear conference hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Monday, Biegun put forward an all-or-nothing approach, insisting that the North has to remove all its weapons of mass destruction, including its chemical and biological weapons.
Biegun also pointed to the difficulties in negotiating with the North-- mainly stemming from the difference in the definition of the Yeongbyeon nuclear complex.
While the complex was defined as only containing plutonium facilities back in 2008 when the six-party talks were ongoing, the special envoy says North Korea has since built new uranium enrichment facilities.
He said the U.S. is demanding the removal of all dimensions of the nuclear fuel cycle and the nuclear weapons program, and highlighted the importance of a "complete declaration".
As for recent reports on new activity at the Dongchang-ri test site, Biegun says Washington is closely monitoring the rocket site.
He said he did not know whether the North Korean leader would decide to launch another missile.
For the first time since the Hanoi summit. North Korea has publicly stated it's still up for complete denuclearization.
The regime's propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri reported Tuesday that North Korea firmly wants to establish new relations with the U.S., bring peace to the Korean Peninsula and move toward completely abandoning its nuclear arsenal.
The report also implied the North will keep communicating with the U.S.
A separate propaganda outlet DPRK Today released the same report.
These outlets aren't considered as official as state-run media like the Korean Central News Agency or the Rodong Sinmun but the reports are still grabbing attention as they're the first to show North Korea's stance about denuclearization since Hanoi.
UN experts are investigating potential violations of a ban on luxury goods exports to North Korea.
Citing a report to the UN Security Council, the Associated Press reported on the appearance in North Korea of luxury vehicles including Rolls-Royce Phantoms and Mercedes-Benz limousines.
These appearances include North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s vehicle spotted last October when U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Pyeongyang.
In addition,the report highlighted the North’s evasion of financial sanctions through cyberattacks.
The remains of Han Byung-goo a Korean War hero have been returned to his family today after sixty-nine long years.
This afternoon, the Defense Ministry's Agency for Killed-In-Action Recovery and Identification held a return ceremony at the home of Han's younger brother in Seoul.
The late private first class enrolled in the military in December 1950 at the young age of 18 to defend his country.
Han's remains were found in September 2016, but it took about two years to find the matching DNA from his family.
According to the recovery agency, there are some ten-thousand sets of remains yet to be identified .
The agency asked for public initiatives to help return these remains to their families.
Source: Arirang News
