Pompeo hails peace hope as dictator offers new plan
SECRETARY OF State Pompeo said after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he believes the dictator is “prepared” to “help us achieve” an end to the regime’s nuclear program.
Pompeo, in an interview on ABC’s “This Week” from Saudi Arabia days after his confirmation as the nation’s top diplomat, said he sees a “real opportunity” for a denuclearization deal.
Pompeo, who at the time was CIA director, met with Kim Jong Un a month ago (photo inset) — and in coming weeks, President Trump is expected to sit down with his North Korean counterpart.
On Friday, Kim became the first North Korean leader to cross over into South Korea, where he met with President Moon Jae-in. He expressed openness to getting rid of his nuclear weapons if the U.S. pledges not to attack North Korea and commits to a formal end to the state of war between the Koreas, Seoul officials said Sunday. Kim also said he would shut down the country’s nuclear test site in May.
“I think it’s a big deal,” Pompeo said of the meeting. “The objective remains the same: complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization.”
Pompeo said that during his trip to Pyongyang, he had “an extensive conversation on the hardest issues” facing the historic adversaries with the North Korean despot.
“My goal was to try and identify if there was a real opportunity there. I believe there is,” he said, adding that the goal of complete denuclearization was made totally clear to Kim.
“He agreed that he was prepared to talk about that and to lay out a map that would help us achieve that objective. Only time could tell if we can get that done.”
Pressed on whether any commitments from the North Koreans could be trusted given the regime’s history of broken promises, Pompeo said the White House is going into talks with “its eyes wide open.”
“We know the history. We know the risks,” he said. “We’re going to require those steps that demonstrate that denuclearization is going to be achieved. We’re not going to take promises. We’re not going to take words. We’re going to look for actions and deeds.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said there have been “very positive” signs from the North Korean regime but he remains skeptical.
“The history, though, is not encouraging. We see the North Koreans vacillate between confrontation and conciliation. They were in a strongly confrontational phase up until now,” he said on “This Week.”
“But look, we have to press this opportunity, we have to test it. It would be irresponsible not to. And so we have to hope that this is a change of course, but I think we need to be mindful of their record.”