Siegfried Hecker, a respected nuclear scientist who has previously traveled to North Korea to inspect its nuclear site, co-authored the roadmap with Robert Carlin, a Korea analyst who spent years at the CIA and State Department, and Elliot Serbin, Hecker’s research assistant.
The trio identified 22 specific programs or activities — such as the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile, its missile arsenal or its nuclear reprocessing facilities — that US negotiators need to address with North Korea. Halting or suspending many of these will likely take less than a year, the authors estimate, but eliminating or setting limits on them will take six to 10 years.
Last week, US President Donald Trump abruptly canceled his planned Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in part due to concerns on whether Pyongyang was willing to agree to what’s known as CVID — complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of the country’s nuclear program.
After a flurry of diplomatic activity, Trump has hinted that the talks may be back on. US officials are in Singapore and South Korea to prepare for the summit’s potential revival.
Talks could potentially resume Wednesday at the demilitarized zone that divides the two Koreas, a person familiar with North Korea-US relations told CNN.
“The goal here is to create an environment where North Korea would not desire nuclear weapons development by removing the threat perception (posed by the United States),” said Chun Yung-woo, a former South Korean national security adviser.
Analysts and weapons experts have been quick to point out that an agreement on denuclearization would take a significant amount of time, due to the complexity of the negotiations and the lack of trust between the two sides.
“Such assurance cannot be achieved simply by an American promise or an agreement on paper, it will require a substantial period of coexistence and interdependence,” the study concluded.
Source : Nbcnewyork