Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that if
North Korea agrees to fully dismantle its nuclear weapons program, the Trump administration will allow the American private sector to invest in the country.
Pompeo also hinted that the US might assure Kim Jong-un he can stay in power after any deal.
If a deal is reached at or after the summit meeting between Kim and Trump scheduled
for Singapore on 12 June, Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday, “private sector Americans, not the US taxpayer” could “help build out the energy grid that needs enormous amounts of electricity in North Korea”. Americans could also help, he said, with investment in infrastructure and agriculture to help feed the North Korean people.
Appearing on CBS’s Face the Nation, Pompeo floated the possibility of “sanctions relief”, a remark that jarred a little with a comment by Donald Trump’s national security adviser. John Bolton told CNN’s State of the Union: “I wouldn’t look for economic aid from us.”
Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina senator, said private investment or sanctions relief for the North would “be the best money we ever spent”.
