Trump roadmap omits N Korea reference

Kim targets nuclear country recognition

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United States President Donald Trump meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, on June 30, 2019.

(REUTERS)

US President Donald Trump's new global security roadmap has dropped any reference to denuclearising North Korea as a goal, fuelling speculation that Washington may be angling to boost the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough with Pyongyang in 2026.

The target of ending North Korea's nuclear threat had been a constant in the National Security Strategy of every US president since the emergence of Pyongyang’s programme in 2003, but was conspicuously absent in Friday's document.

The omission of any mention of North Korea and its accelerating programme to build nuclear weapons that can be delivered by ballistic missiles capable of striking the mainland US is fanning expectations of a potential revival of talks between Mr Trump and Kim Jong-un, last held in 2019.