Nuclear talks in New York
NEW YORK: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and highranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol enter a second day of meetings in New York today as they try to settle nuclear weapons disagreements and set the stage for a historic summit between their two leaders.
The two men left a private dinner at a New York apartment yesterday without providing details about their conversation. Another round of talks was scheduled for today, and Pompeo was then expected to leave New York.
The United States has been demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons programme, amid reports it is close to being able to launch a nucleartipped missile capable of reaching the US.
Pyongyang has argued it needs nuclear weapons for security.
There were reports yesterday that South Korean officials were noting ‘‘quite significant’’ differences between the US and North Korea over denuclearisation.
The New York meetings follow highlevel talks Pompeo held in North Korea in April and May and are intended to get negotiations between the two longtime adversaries back on track.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had been scheduled to hold a summit in Singapore on June 12. Disputes between Washington and Pyongyang led Trump to cancel the meeting, but diplomatic efforts have been renewed in recent days.
Kim Yong Chol, a close aide of Kim Jong Un and vicechairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, is the most senior North Korean official to meet top US officials for talks in the United States in nearly two decades.
In return for Pyongyang giving up its nuclear weapons, Washington could loosen sanctions, leading to possible aid to impoverished North Korea and improved ties with South Korea.
A senior State Department official briefed reporters separately as Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol met yesterday.
The official, who asked not to be identified, said North Korea was ‘‘going to have to make clear what they are willing to do’’ in response to US demands.
Trump, the official said, ‘‘can make a fly or nofly decision anytime he wants,’’ referring to the possible Singapore summit.
If not enough progress is made to lead to a productive meeting between Trump and Kim Jong Un, the official said, ‘‘we will ramp up the pressure on them and we’ll be ready for the day that hopefully they are ready.’’
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had invited Kim Jong Un to Russia and passed on best wishes from President Vladimir Putin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
Lavrov, who travelled to Pyongyang yesterday, told Kim Moscow supported peace and progress on the Korean peninsula and highly valued a declaration signed by Pyongyang and Seoul. — Reuters