US vows to make North Korea rich

The US has promised to rebuild North Korea’s sanctions-crippled economy if Kim Jong Un’s regime agrees to surrender its nuclear arsenal.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s vow on Friday came as senior US officials expressed optimism ahead of the landmark June 12 summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.

Pompeo, after talks with Kim over the weekend, even said “we have a pretty good understanding between our two countries about what the shared objectives are.”

He was speaking after talks with his South Korean counterpart foreign minister Kang Kyung-wha to coordinate Washington and Seoul’s preparations for the historic encounter.

Many observers have warned Kim’s regime will try to drive a wedge between the allies as the summit approaches, playing Seoul’s fear of war against Washington’s nuclear concerns.

But both Kang and Pompeo insisted that they agreed on the need for the “total, permanent and verifiable” denuclearization of the divided peninsula.

Trump and South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in are due to meet on May 22 at the White House for the next round of planning. And Pompeo said the United States would remain on board to help develop the North’s economy, which has been devastated by its own mismanagement and crippling international sanctions. After the Korea war, the South emerged to become a leading world economy. AFP

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