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| U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
Sanctions on North Korea will remain effective until it takes serious denuclearization measures, U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris reiterated Monday.
"Sanctions will remain in place until North Korea takes concrete and verifiable steps toward denuclearization," Harris said in a speech marking 65 years of ties between Seoul and Washington, at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul.
The U.S. ambassador's remarks come at a time North Korea has been stepping up calls for sanctions to be eased in its denuclearization process.
Washington, however, remains firm in its stance that Pyongyang needs to take tangible denuclearization measures first as it has not taken any verifiable steps since the summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June, where Kim pledged to achieve complete denuclearization.
North Korea earlier shut down its Punggye-ri nuclear testing site and dismantled facilities at its Tongchang-ri missile testing site, but these measures have yet to be verified. Pyongyang has yet to provide a list of its nuclear facilities and also present a timeline for its denuclearization process.
Addressing Pyongyang's greatest ambition to build its economy, the ambassador said "The North now has to change to lift itself out of the poverty of the past six decades."
"The potential for positive change in North Korea is limitless, but only if Chairman Kim fulfills his commitments to denuclearize," he said.
"Our two nations are committed to choose the right deal, not just any deal," he added, implying that no concessions will be made without seeing denuclearization first taking place.
Harris also addressed North Korea's repeated calls to declare an end to the 1950-53 Korean War.
"It's too early right now to make a strong comment on the way forward with regard to an end of war declaration," he said.
Pyongyang has been urging for the war to be ended as an early stage in its denuclearization process to protect its regime by removing hostilities, but Washington's stance is that it needs to see tangible denuclearization efforts first.
The diplomat instead affirmed the common goal of Washington and Seoul.
"The U.S. and South Korea have the same goal _ that's the final, fully verified denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
Meanwhile, he did not provide comment about plans for a third summit between the leaders in the fall.
South and North Korea agreed at a high-level meeting at the truce village of Panmunjeom on Monday to hold a third summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the North Korean leader in Pyongyang in September. A summit in the fall between the leaders was among the agreements reached at their first summit in April.
"We're in close contact with South Korea about all our unified responses to the issue of North Korea," Harris said.
An issue that has continued to make headlines in the South is about North Korean coal that was imported into South Korea in breach of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions. The sanctions ban North Korea from exporting coal, iron and other mineral resources and UN member states from procuring them.
"All UN member states are required to implement Security Council resolutions," Harris said about the matter.
Harris took office as U.S. Ambassador to Seoul in July, filling a post that had been vacant for more than a year and six months. He was the former commander of the U.S. Pacific Command.
"There could not be a more dynamic time or place to serve as the U.S. ambassador, and there is no better partner for the U.S. than South Korea," he said.
