Trump to Demand Full Removal of N. Korea's Nuclear, Ballistic Arsenal – Bolton

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump intends to seek complete elimination of the North Korean nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal before making concessions to Pyongyang in lifting economic sanctions from the country, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told Fox News on Sunday.

When asked whether Trump would make concessions to Kim only after North Korea completely destroys its missile and nuclear potential, Bolton answered positively.

"Yes, I think that's what denuclearization means. We have very much in mind the Libya model [of complete elimination of weapons in question] from 2003, 2004 [when the country joined the UN convention on eliminating chemical weapons]… The Libyan program was much smaller, but that was basically the agreement that we made," he said as quoted by Fox News.

Bolton also confirmed that the United States would start lifting economic sanctions from North Korea only after full denuclearization.
Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country would stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles as well as shut down a nuclear test site. Trump has welcomed the announcement calling it a "big progress."

On Friday, Trump said that he would hold a meeting with the North Korean leader in "the coming weeks," and that the location for the meeting had been narrowed down to two or three sites.