38 North:
By suspending test-launches of missiles before completing the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Kim Jong Un opened the door to a summit meeting with President Donald Trump and gave the most important sign to date of his willingness to negotiate denuclearization.
While the most urgent step in talks is to explore Kim’s offer to dismantle the nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, starting with the suspension of his fissile material production there and elsewhere in the country, attention needs to be paid next to the missile program even before demanding a comprehensive inventory of the North’s nuclear and missile facilities and assets.
A verifiable halt to further production and deployment of intermediate- and intercontinental-range missiles is worth seeking. Such a halt may be more negotiable than is commonly believed if the North faces limits on the number of powerful missile engines it acquired from Russia and Ukraine in the immediate aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union.
