Bolton says there's a one-year plan for North Korea to denuclearize, stays mum on WaPo report

CNN ^ | 07/01/2018 | By Maegan Vazquez

[SeekAndFind]

White House national security adviser John Bolton offered up new details on Sunday about the path toward the nuclear disarmament of North Korea and addressed a recent Washington Post report suggesting that the country plans to deceive the United States about its nuclear stockpile.

On CBS's "Face the Nation," Bolton said North Korea's nuclear arsenal could be dismantled in a year if Pyongyang cooperates, adding that the program would require "full disclosure of all [of North Korea's] chemical and biological, nuclear programs, ballistic missile sites."

"We have developed a program. I am sure that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be discussing this with the North Koreans in the near future about really how to dismantle all of their [weapons of mass destruction] and ballistic missile programs in a year," Bolton said. "If they have the strategic decision already made to do that and they are cooperative, we can move very quickly. And it is to North Korea's advantage to dismantle very quickly. Then the elimination of sanctions, aid by South Korea and Japan and others can all begin to flower."

Bolton disclosed that the plan has not been put into action yet.

"It has not. Physically, we would be able to dismantle the overwhelming bulk of their programs within a year," Bolton said.

On "Face the Nation" and "Fox News Sunday," Bolton refused to talk about a Washington Post report that US intelligence officials have concluded North Korea does not intend to fully surrender its nuclear stockpile and is preparing to deceive the US about the number of nuclear warheads in its arsenal and the existence of undisclosed facilities used to make fissile material.

[KC_Conspirator]

The ComPost is telling its liberal readers that Trump and his advisers are somehow ignorant of North Korea and getting rolled. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

[Balding_Eagle]

It will happen.

[Eternal_Bear]

So when does the one year count down begin? Will that have to be negotiated?

[DoodleDawg]

It will happen.

I have my doubts.

[Balding_Eagle]

Then you can dance your victory dance.

But don’t bother buy new dancing shoes, the historical record of Donald Trump shows decades and decades of him winning in far more difficult situations.

This one is a cakewalk for him.

[AmericanInTokyo]

About the only positive motion these days in all of this drama (and sometimes incredibly surreal folly and hyper-triumphialism)’ was the recent appointment of Anthony Ruggiero, a former official at the State and Treasury who is with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, to “director of North Korea” at NSC reporting to The Walrus. Folks, there is still a viscerally fierce battle of control on this issue within the White House, between Pompeo and career striped-trouser boys at State Dept on the one hand, and realists like Bolton and Ruggiero who won’t take any shit or usual games from DPRK. There is the Potomac game of leaking and counter leaks going on with these two, and the WaPo is just a single part of it. It isn’t necessarily “fake news” just because were it true it would step on our narrative, our house of cards housing self justification for getting too ahead of this troublesome process with a troublesome interlocutor. As it is, Pompeo seems to somewhat have the upper hand though I wish it were otherwise. But we will see what spin he puts on it when back from Pyongyang later this week.

[2ndDivisionVet]

Would you want to be in Pyongyang on that day?

[Chaguito]

It is not the content of the surveillance, it is the WaPo interpretation of what it means that is of questionable reliability. And the implication that somehow the Trump team is living in lala land with regard to NK.

If only the WaPo had been so helpful in guiding Obama.

[AmericanInTokyo]

WaPo is highly hypocritical in this regard. Yes. There is plenty of blame to go around for the foolish and naive behavior of the State Department re: handling of NK under both the can-kicking Obama and Trump Administrations, more-so of course in the former case—as well as under Clinton and Bush-2 as well. Much of this has been an outright disaster, a clusterf at best, and thank goodness there are some good and courageous souls directing and within the NSC these days that are trying to reverse course on this folly—but it’s not an easy task.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SeekAndFind.

[SunkenCiv]

• Bolton says there's a one-year plan for North Korea to denuclearize, stays mum on WaPo report

[FreedomPoster]

Your take on this in #26 and #28 feels pretty spot on. Time will tell, I expect.

[raiderboy]

I do not want to Criticize here. Talking is better than millions dying and I do not impute the president’s level of understanding of Kim jung UN as a total mad man dictator.
The NORKS WILL NEVER give up their nukes , as I have said repeatedly. That is not on the tabled. We will never pay them bribes for extortion and have not. The best scenario is a slow bleed into detente. Actually sovereign nations do what they want. They must be willing to suffer trade sanctions but we have no right to dictate to sovereign countries any more than we suffer their imposed ideas.
Kim threatened this country. He is a clear and present danger. He is not going to give anything up. We must totally surround him with nuclear armed subs, as we do every day and we must be ready to preempt any attack on THIS country. Trump is doing a great job but don’t think the NORKS will give up nukes unless you have lost your touch with reality.