U.S. not abiding by nuclear deal, N. Korean envoy charges

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea’s top diplomat accused the United States of failing to live up to President Donald Trump’s agreement with its leader, Kim Jong Un, warning Saturday that the country would not start denuclearizing unless Washington took reciprocal actions.

Speaking at a closeddoor session at a regional security forum in Singapore, Ri Yong Ho, North Korea’s foreign minister, said his country had taken a series of actions toward denuclearization, such as halting nuclear and missile tests, demolishing an underground nuclear test site and dismantling a missile engine test site.

But Ri said that Washington was dragging its feet in taking corresponding measures to build mutual confidence and improve ties with Pyongyang. Such steps, Ri said, include easing sanctions and declaring an end to the 1950-53 Korean War as a prelude to negotiating a formal peace treaty to replace the armistice that halted the war 65 years ago.

“However, the United States, instead of responding to these measures, is raising its voice louder for maintaining the sanctions against the DPRK and showing the attitude to retreat even from declaring the end of the war — a very basic and primary step for providing peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Ri said, using an acronym for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the North’s official name.

Pompeo said Saturday that ending North Korea’s nuclear program would take time. But he said he was “optimistic that we will get this done in the timeline and the world will celebrate what the U.N. Security Council has demanded.”

Speaking in a news conference, Pompeo stressed the importance of keeping economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea.

But his appeal came as reports emerged indicating that sanctions against North Korea were not being enforced as effectively as the United States hoped for. A confidential United Nations report, leaked to the media over the weekend, said that North Korea was continuing with both its nuclear and missile programs.