U.S. to ramp up sanctions if DPRK unwilling to denuclearize: Bolton

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said late Tuesday that the United States would step up sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if Pyongyang was unwilling to abandon its nuclear weapons program.

National security adviser John Bolton straightens his tie before an interview at the White House in Washington on March 5, 2019. [Photo: AP/Jacquelyn Martin]

In an interview with FOX Business Network, Bolton said that the United States would see whether the DPRK was still serious about negotiations and was committed to giving up its "nuclear weapons program and everything associated with it."

"If they're not willing to do it ... they're not going to get relief from the crushing economic sanctions that have been imposed on them and we'll look at ramping those sanctions up in fact," he added.

Bolton said in another interview on Sunday that Washington's "program of maximum pressure will continue" on Pyongyang, which had "brought them to the table in the first place."

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with DPRK’s leader Kim Jong Un in Hanoi on Feb. 28, 2019. [Photo: AP/Evan Vucci]

President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK, ended their second summit in Hanoi on Feb. 27-28, without reaching an agreement.

Nevertheless, the White House said the two leaders had "very good and constructive meetings" and discussed various ways to "advance denuclearization and economic driven concepts."