CIA says North Korea won’t denuclearize, but may open Western burger joint

A new CIA assessment reportedly undercuts US President Donald Trump’s stated goal for an upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, by concluding that Pyongyang will not give up its nuclear arms.

The report was also said to suggest Kim could instead agree to open a Western hamburger joint as an “act of good will.”

Citing three US national security officials, NBC News reported on Wednesday that the CIA says North Korea won’t agree to denuclearize during talks with the US scheduled for June 12, which were canceled by Trump but are now back on the table. A more realistic approach, the report said, would be to convince Pyongyang to reverse recent nuclear developments it has made.

Washington wants North Korea to quickly give up all its nuclear weapons in a verifiable way in return for sanctions and economic relief.

Pyongyang has a different view of denuclearization and remains deeply worried that abandoning its deterrent power would leave it vulnerable, especially while the United States maintains a robust military presence in South Korea.

The CIA was said to have included in its report several compromises that Kim could agree to instead of denuclearization, including an unusual suggestion that a hamburger franchise could be opened in Pyongyang to signal that Kim is open to Western investment.

The report didn’t specify a chain, but added that the store “could be used to provide food during the talks,” NBC said.

During his election campaign, Trump said he would be willing to sit down with Kim and negotiate over a “hamburger.”

However, the conclusions in the report were said to be at low or medium confidence, as hard intelligence is difficult to obtain from the isolated country. “This is essentially some very smart analysts offering their very best guesses,” an intelligence official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Russia said that its Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will travel to North Korea on Thursday to discuss the reclusive state’s nuclear program and bilateral cooperation with his counterpart there.

“Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s official visit to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea will take place on May 31,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Last month North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho held rare talks with Lavrov in Moscow as Pyongyang moved to improve strained ties with global powers.

The developments came amid preparations for the high-stakes, high-drama summit between Trump and Kim.

The White House said Tuesday that the US “continues to actively prepare” for the “expected summit.” Trump confirmed that a top North Korean official, Kim Yong-chol, was headed to New York for talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. It marks the latest sign that prospects for the summit are growing, just days after it was ostensibly called off by Trump, as teams of US officials have arrived at the Korean demilitarized zone and in Singapore to prepare for the meeting.