North Korea still retains all the fissile material it needs to make nuclear bombs and hasn't slowed down production of this critical commodity, revealed U.S. Army Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, the highest ranking general in Korea.
Gen Brooks is the current commander of United States Forces Korea; the United Nations Command and the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command.
"We haven't seen a complete shutdown of production yet ... There has to be demonstrable action in that direction or we cannot be satisfied and we probably can't be friends and we probably won't be at peace," said Gen. Brooks.
He further pointed out that North Korea's nuclear "production capability is still intact." He said the United States hasn't seen "a complete shutdown of production yet. We have not seen a removal of fuel rods."
This revelation is another embarrassment for president Donald Trump, who declared after the June 12 Singapore summit that North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un had promised to denuclearize his country by dismantling its nuclear weapon production facilities.
During this controversial summit, Kim "reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." Military experts, however, pointed out that North Korea's definition of "denuclearization" is ambiguous and in no way resembles that held by the United States.
No agreement on a method or timetable for dismantling North Korea's nuclear weapons was reached during the summit, a non-result that led critics to dub it a spectacular failure Trump continues to deny.
It's well-known North Korea produces both weapons-useable plutonium and enriched uranium. One U.S. government reports in 2017 estimates North Korea might have produced enough nuclear material each year for 12 additional nuclear weapons.
North Korea has enough fissile material to produce 60 nuclear warheads for its ballistic missiles. This has Gen. Brooks very worried.
"There has to be demonstrable action in that direction, or we cannot be satisfied and we probably can't be friends and we probably won't be at peace," said Gen. Brooks. "Thus far, those steps have not been taken."
Gen. Brooks, however, said its vital not to "overreact to things like that" while diplomats work to resolve tensions and build trust between the U.S. and North Korea.
"Building that trust while that pressure continues and while the efforts for diplomacy continue is the order of the day. In many ways the lack of trust is the enemy we now have to defeat," noted Gen. Brooks Brooks. "That's really where we are right now."
