NHK reported at noon that a senior State Department official who is attending the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Toronto told NHK and other media that the recent announcement by Kim Jong Un to suspend nuclear tests and ICBM launches is “good news” and is along the lines of North Korea’s recent rhetoric. Meanwhile, the official also reportedly said: “We have said at the G7 that the mistakes of the past must never be repeated. We are hoping that North Korea will substantially relinquish its nuclear development program first. Our maximum pressure will continue until denuclearization is complete.”

In addition, the network said the Wall Street Journal reported online on Sunday that several USG officials said President Trump does not plan to make any substantive concessions at the planned U.S.-DPRK summit, such as relaxing sanctions, unless North Korea substantially dismantles its nuclear development program. According to the report, Kim Jong Un proposed to CIA chief Pompeo when he secretly visited Pyongyang a plan for the two sides to make concessions over the next several years. The network said, however, that the Trump administration is skeptical of the plan and prefers the approach of moving toward with denuclearization at once.