North Korea is rapidly moving the goal posts for next month’s summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump, saying the United States must stop insisting that the North “unilaterally” abandon its nuclear weapons program and stop talking about a Libya-style solution to the standoff. That deal, executed by the Bush administration nearly 15 years ago, is a footnote to American histories of that era.But it has always loomed large for the North Koreans.The planned June 12 meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been regarded by disarmament advocates as an opportunity to end decades of animosity between North Korea and the United States.But in the mind of Trump’s new national security adviser, John R. Bolton, who was an architect of the Libya deal, that is the model of how things should play out as the two leaders meet: Complete nuclear disarmament, in return for the promise of economic integration. National Security Adviser John Bolton told Fox News Radio Wednesday that “we are trying to be both optimistic and realistic at the same time.”

Bolton, who was called out by name by the North for saying that the U.S. is seeking to seek an outcome similar to Libya’s unilateral nuclear disarmament, said the personal attack raised question of “whether this really is a sign that that they’re not taking our objective of denuclearization seriously.”

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said earlier Wednesday that preparations for the summit were ongoing despite the cancellation threat and that Trump is “hopeful” the meeting will still take place. During inspections in 2003, the Americans discovered Libya had centrifuges that could be used to produce highly enriched uranium — fuel for a bomb.“It is absolutely absurd to dare compare the DPRK, a nuclear weapon state, to Libya, which had been at the initial state of nuclear development,” the North Korean statement said, using the initials for the country’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.North Korea has tested six nuclear weapons, and U.S. intelligence agencies believe it has 20 to 60 more, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of striking the United States.North Korea’s statement Wednesday also made direct reference to Bolton.In his first televised interviews after becoming national security adviser last month, Bolton told “Face the Nation” on CBS and “Fox News Sunday” that Libya’s denuclearization was what he envisioned when moving ahead with North Korea talks.“We have very much in mind the Libya model from 2003, 2004,” he said on Fox. The Libyan program was much smaller, but that was basically the agreement that we made.”When a reporter asked Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, specifically about the Libya model and if the administration’s approach to North Korea would be the same, she backed away from Bolton’s comparison.“I haven’t seen that as part of any discussions, so I am not aware that that’s a model that we are using,” Sanders said Wednesday.
North Korea warns that it might cancel talks with the United States if the U.S. keeps insisting that North Korea will "unilaterally" abandon its nuclear weapons program, similar to the disarmament of Libya. The White House says it is hopeful the planned summit will still happen.