The White House announced that US President Donald Trump has decided to prolong anti-North Korea sanctions for one more year as part of his "maximum pressure" policy toward the country.
In his earlier statement, Trump did not exclude the lifting of sanctions if the DPRK refused to use nuclear weapons, but the official policy of the United States is that sanctions will only be halted after "full, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization.
READ MORE: Trump: North Korea Has Eliminated 4 of Its "Huge Objects" for Nuclear Tests
The meeting Trump mentioned included the signing of a historical agreement that required Pyongyang to denuclearize in exchange for a freeze on US-South Korean military drills and eventually the lifting of sanctions.
The US Sanctions
The United States introduced several rounds of sanctions to prevent the country from further developing nuclear arms. The punitive measures followed a UN resolution, adopted on December 22, 2017, and aimed to strengthen the restrictive measures against Pyongyang, binding fuel imports and other trade, as well as prohibiting North Koreans from working abroad.
READ MORE: Nuclear Program Is a 'Trump Card' Pyongyang Might Not Let Go Of — Analyst
