FOREIGN POLICY/NATIONAL SECURITY/NORTH KOREA/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump called an offer by North Korea to discuss giving up its nuclear weapons sincere, but top administration officials Tuesday [3-6-18] stopped short of a commitment to open talks with Pyongyang.
The White House’s wariness stems from three decades of frustrated diplomacy and fears that North Korea now may link any denuclearization with unacceptable demands, such as the withdrawal of American troops from the Korean Peninsula, a senior administration official said.
Still, Mr. Trump said American sanctions appear to have forced Pyongyang to the table and he is hopeful for ‘a very positive result.’… North Korean leader Kim Jong Un told a visiting South Korean delegation that he was willing to hold talks with the U.S. about giving up nuclear weapons and would halt weapons tests during any negotiations, officials in Seoul said Tuesday… Mr. Kim also said he would be willing to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April, in what would be the third-ever summit between leaders of the two Koreas, Mr. Chung said.”
-Michael R. Gordon, Michael C. Bender, and Jonathan Cheng, “Trump Administration Praises North Korean Overture, but Remains Wary,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 6, 2018 11:24pm