While the Trump Administration insists publicly that progress with North Korea is continuing to be made, privately officials are suggesting things have ground to a halt. Recent US proposals, which is to say demands, have been uniformly rejected by North Korea, who complained they were “gangster-like.”

Officials familiar with this process say the US demands are centering on North Korea giving them full, verifiable denuclearization without any sanctions relief in return. They also say that North Korea is holding out for a peace treaty.

North Korea has always seen a peace treaty, ending the 1950 Korean War, as their goal in this process. Other nations have been proposing sanctions relief as well, given the concessions already made. The US has blocked this, insisting the sanctions must remain, and pushing for even more sanctions going forward.

All the times the US has praised North Korea for “goodwill gestures,” North Korea is seen wanting some gestures for themselves. Diplomats are being quoted in the press as saying this is likely to mean a peace treaty, and that North Korea isn’t going to make serious progress without that.

South Korea has been pushing the US to make some moves, but so far that hasn’t amounted to much. North and South Korean officials are meeting Monday to try to make progress on their own front.