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The IAEA or International Atomic Energy Agency reported that activities related to the enrichment of uranium and construction of Pyongyang’s nuclear site is still ongoing.

“The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s [North Korea’s] nuclear program and related statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern,” the report said.

This is contradictory to the “complete denuclearization” agreement made between U.S. president Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong-un during the historic summit in Singapore last June. North Korea’s actions since the Singapore summit are becoming “historic” for the wrong reasons.

Kim Duyeon, an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, echoed popular sentiment that the summit was more image and less substance:

“The Singapore summit wasn’t a nuclear deal and there’s no agreement between Washington and Pyongyang that would encourage North Korea to act any differently.”

“Negotiating with North Korea is always going to be a long, bumpy and twisty process, and they are savvy negotiators. They want to hold on to their nuclear weapons as long as possible while extracting as many concessions along the way.”

There are speculations that the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo is heading to North Korea anytime soon to conduct a fourth visit for nuclear negotiations.

According to an anonymous source, a newspaper reported that “North Korea plans to hand over a list of its secret nuclear test sites as well as information about its nuclear warheads to Mike Pompeo when he visits Pyongyang this month.”

Kim Jong-un will possibly meet Pompeo face to face, the newspaper added.

Again, Kim Duyeon has expressed doubts on the sincerity of Pyongyang:

“A nuclear inventory will always be imperfect. North Korea will never give a complete accounting because they want cards in their hand and to maintain some degree of leverage.”

U.S. negotiators have been requesting for a comprehensive data on the extent of the nuclear program and the locations of nuclear sites.

In return, Pyongyang is seeking a formal declaration of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with an Armistice – a ceasefire between military forces, rather than a formal peace treaty.

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