Negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington over North Korea’s nuclear weapons are stalemated.

The United States wants a complete list of Kim Jong Un’s various nuclear facilities before any sanctions relief can occur, while North Korea demands the Americans offer relief as a reward for Pyongyang’s destruction of its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and planned dismantling of the Sohae missile launch facility.

The root problem is that Kim Jong Un wants – and needs – sanctions relief in order to grow the North Korean economy as he has promised, but the U.S. refuses to grant that until Pyongyang makes irreversible steps