POMPEO SEES HARD ROAD AHEAD BUT PURSUES NORTH KOREAN DENUCLEARIZATION TALKS
TOKYO/WASHINGTON— US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brushed off North Korean charges that he used “gangsterlike” diplomacy in negotiations in Pyongyang, saying on Sunday after meeting his Japanese and South Korean counterparts that he would continue to pursue denuclearization talks with North Korea.
Pompeo said in Tokyo that there was still a lot of work to do, but he was confident North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would stick to a commitment to abandon nuclear weapons he made during a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last month.
“When we spoke to them about denuclearization, they did not push back,” Pompeo told a news conference after two days of talks in Pyongyang that ended on Saturday. “The road ahead will be difficult and challenging and we know that critics will try to minimize the work that we’ve achieved,” he added.
Harsh words
Leading US senators expressed concern about North Korea’s harsh words and urged the Trump administration to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang.
Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said joint military exercises with South Korea that were suspended to show good- will toward North Korea should be resumed “soon” if denuclearization talks sputter.
Pompeo said that while he saw progress in Pyongyang, the United States was not relaxing the current sanctions regime or changing its “ironclad” commitment to the defense of allies South Korea and Japan.
Pompeo spoke after North Korea said the talks “brought us in a dangerous situation where we may be shaken in our unshakable will for denuclearization, rather than consolidating trust.”
Future of talks
The statement was carried by the official Korea Central News Agency on Saturday soon after Pompeo left Pyongyang, raising questions about the future of the talks in which he is trying to persuade Pyongyang to give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States.
Kim made a broad commitment in Singapore to “work toward denuclearization” but did not give details on how or when he would dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program.
Security guarantees
Trump in turn offered security guarantees to Pyongyang and pledged a halt to the largescale military drills with South Korea.
North Korea’s latest comments were a reminder of the difficulties that previous US administrations have had negotiating with the reclusive state.
Leaked US intelligence findings have concluded that North Korea does not intend to give up its nuclear program completely.
Danger remains
Pompeo said he did not meet Kim on his latest visit to Pyongyang, as he had done twice before, and he had not anticipated doing so. The White House said before the trip that he would meet Kim.
In a speech on Sunday in Vietnam, Pompeo urged North Korea to follow the example of Vietnam, saying he believed Pyongyang could replicate Hanoi’s path to normal relations with Washington and to prosperity.
US demand
“The United States has been clear on what we seek from North Korea,” Pompeo said in Hanoi.
“The choice now lies with North Korea and its people,” he added.
“If they are able to do this, they will be remembered, and Chairman Kim will be remembered, as a hero of the Korean people.”
Some analysts and lawmakers have expressed alarm that the talks appear to have run into difficulties, although others see a possible North Korean negotiating ploy.