WASHINGTON, Jan 28 (Bernama-Yonhap) - United States (US) President Donald Trump will pursue the "complete denuclearisation of North Korea," Yonhap News Agency reported, citing a White House official on Tuesday, amid questions over whether Trump's recent reference to the North as a "nuclear power" signalled any policy shift.
The US National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes made the remarks shortly after the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visited a nuclear-material production base and a nuclear weapons institute in an apparent move to highlight its military capability.
"President Trump will pursue the complete denuclearization of North Korea, just as he did in his first term," Hughes said in response to a question from Yonhap News Agency.
"President Trump had a good relationship with Kim Jong Un, and his mix of toughness and diplomacy led to the first-ever leader-level commitment to complete denuclearisation," the official added.
Hughes appears to be referring to the agreement between Trump and Kim during their first summit in Singapore in 2018. Under it, the two sides agreed to work toward the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean Peninsula and setting new bilateral relations.
Earlier in the day, a US government official said that there has been no change yet in the United States policy toward North Korea.
"There has not been any change of policy regarding the DPRK," the official told Yonhap News Agency on condition of anonymity. DPRK is short for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Last week, Trump referred to the North as a nuclear power -- a term that US officials have mostly refrained from using as it could be regarded as US recognition of Pyongyang's nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also called the North a nuclear power during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
In what could be a move to raise its leverage ahead of potential talks with the US, the KCNA reported that Kim visited the sites related to the North's nuclear program, where the leader called for "overfulfilling the plan for producing weapons-grade nuclear materials and strengthening the country's nuclear shield."
During a recent Fox News interview, Trump said he would reach out to Kim again, portraying Kim as a "smart guy" and "not a religious zealot" -- an expression that indicates that the dynastic ruler is someone he could communicate with again for a parley.
-- BERNAMA-YONHAP
