South Korea looks for substance in talks with North as Pompeo criticises Russia

As South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in prepares to meet his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un this week with the hopes of agreeing steps towards denuclearisation, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused Russia of working to undermine sanctions aimed at the North’s weapons programme.

With Mr Moon headed to Pyongyang tomorrow for the third inter-Korea talks, Mr Pompeo said Russia had weakened UN Security Council resolutions over sanctions and tried to cover up its actions.

“Russia has actively attempted to undermine the UN Security Council resolutions, the work of the ... committee at the UN that evaluates compliance with sanctions,” he said on Friday.

On Thursday, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Moscow of seeking to cover up breaches of UN sanctions on North Korea by Russians by pushing for changes to an independent report on sanctions offences.

Mr Pompeo said he hoped the UN sanctions committee would “publish the original document that they intended to publish, which shows clear activities related to sanctions”.

The security council will meet today to discuss the implementation of sanctions on North Korea at the request of the US.

Despite the hard stance on sanctions, there has been speculation that US President Donald Trump is planning a second face-to-face meeting with Mr Kim after comments about the possibility of further in-person talks.

The upcoming UN General Assembly, where world leaders gather in New York to address the international community, could prove the perfect opportunity for such a meeting.

Mr Moon could be facing his toughest challenge yet – agreeing something that goes beyond vague statements on denuclearisation and helps to put US-North Korea talks back on track.

Failure to see tangible action has led to questions as to whether Mr Kim is willing to relinquish his nuclear arsenal.