17 February
US Vice President Mike Pence has stressed the necessity of maintaining sanctions against North Korea ahead of the second US-North Korea summit scheduled for later this month.
Pence delivered a speech at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday. Regarding the summit scheduled for later this month in Hanoi, Vietnam, he said US President Donald Trump "believes peace is possible."
Pence said, "we will not repeat the mistakes of the past." He added that all nations "must continue to stand together, enforce all UN Security Council resolutions." Pence also said, "we will continue to stand firm until we achieve the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea." One focus at the upcoming summit is expected to be whether the US will make concessions in return for Pyongyang declaring its nuclear sites and allowing inspections at them.
The US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, has said the US is "prepared to discuss many actions that could help build trust between the two countries."—NHK
