US president lauds deal despite scepticism

Donald Trump has declared that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat, following his summit with Kim Jong-un.

The two leaders met on Tuesday, signing a brief declaration on denuclearisation and reducing tensions.

After arriving back in the US, the president also tweeted that “everybody can now feel much safer”.

However, the credibility of that claim is in doubt. Many observers say the agreement does little to reduce North Korea’s stockpile of weapons.

Under the deal, the North retains its nuclear warheads, the missiles to launch them and has not agreed to any specific process to get rid of them.

At a news conference after the meeting in Singapore on Tuesday, Mr Trump said he would lift sanctions against North Korea once “nukes are no longer a factor”.

He also announced an unexpected end to US-South Korea military drills.

The move – long demanded by Pyongyang – has been seen as a major concession to North Korea and appeared to take US allies in the region by surprise.

US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has arrived in South Korea to discuss this decision and the details of how denuclearisation could be achieved.

BBC