Pompeo ‘consulted with foreign ministers’ on next DPRK step

WASHINGTON — The US State Department said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke on the phone with the foreign ministers of the Republic of Korea and Japan to discuss the next step on engagement with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

According to an announcement by State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Monday, Pompeo and ROK Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha “reaffirmed the United States and the Republic of Korea remain committed to the final, fully verified denuclearization” of the DPRK.

The two diplomats also “pledged to maintain close coordination and agreed that pressure must continue until the DPRK denuclearizes”, read the statement.

In a separate statement also issued by Nauert, Pompeo and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono reaffirmed their commitment to the DPRK’s final denuclearization, and “agreed that pressure must continue until the DPRK denuclearizes”.

Pompeo and Kono “affirmed the strength of the US-Japan Alliance and vowed to continue working closely together to address common challenges, seize shared opportunities, and advance the interests of both the United States and Japan” in the region, read the statement.

US President Donald Trump on Friday tweeted that he had asked Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to the DPRK, just one day after Pompeo said he and Stephen Biegun, the US’ new special envoy to the DPRK, will travel to Pyongyang the following week “to make further diplomatic progress toward our objective”.

Speaking of the call between Pompeo and Kang, the ROK Foreign Ministry said on Friday that “Pompeo explained in detail the background behind the postponement of his visit to North Korea (DPRK).”

In response, Kang expressed regret over the postponement of the visit, “citing the unswerving commitment of the ROK and the US to a thorough implementation of the measures agreed upon at the inter-Korean and US-North Korea summit talks”.

She also proposed that the ROK and the US side, “while maintaining the momentum of dialogue, continue efforts to achieve denuclearization and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula”.

In a joint statement after his June 12 meeting in Singapore with the DPRK’s top leader Kim Jong-un, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the peninsula.