Secretary of State Pompeo Says U.S. May Ease North Korean Sanctions

It will be interesting to see what sanctions relief the Trump administration is willing to give and what they get in return for the Trump-Kim II Summit:

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo mentioned easing sanctions while talking about North Korea and the US’ denuclearization negotiations. In an interview with the press on Feb. 13, Pompeo said that “it’s our full intention of getting a good outcome in exchange for relieving those sanctions. I’m very hopeful that we can do that.” 

Pompeo publicly indicated a willingness to relieve sanctions just a week or two before the second North Korea-US summit raises expectations about the prospects of the two countries’ negotiations.

The US’ previous position had been that sanctions will not be eased or lifted until North Korea’s complete denuclearization. But leading up to the second summit, the North has called for the easing of sanctions, which it says are incompatible with improving bilateral relations. Pompeo’s remarks suggest that the US has come to terms with the fact that North Korea cannot be persuaded to take steps toward denuclearization without a little quid pro quo in the form of easing sanctions. 

Hankyoreh

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime and the Moon administration would love nothing more than re-opening the Kaesong Industrial Complex and the joint tourism projects on the East Coast. Both are large cash cows for the Kim regime that have little impact on North Korean society.