Meeting between Pompeo, North Koreans called off
Denuclearization, sanctions rift between the countires growing
TOKYO — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned meeting with his North Korean counterpart in New York has been called off at the last minute, the State Department announced Wednesday, without giving any explanation or new date.
South Korea’s government warned against reading too much into the postponement. Nevertheless, there have been signs of a growing rift between Washington and Pyongyang over the denuclear- ization process and the right time to lift sanctions.
The meeting was scheduled to take place today, but State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said it would now take place “at a later date.”
“We will reconvene when our schedules permit,” she added in a statement. “Ongoing conversations continue to take place. The United States remains focused on fulfilling the commitments agreed to by President Trump and Chairman Kim at the Singapore summit in June.”
South Korea’s national broadcaster KBS reported that the North Korean negotiating team, led by Kim Yong Chol, was supposed to get on a Wednesday flight from Beijing to New York.
But KBS said it was unclear if the team had even arrived in Beijing, adding that Kim Yong Chol had apparently canceled his New York flight early Tuesday.
The postponement comes at a tricky time in the nuclear negotiations. North Korea wants to see both sides take “simultaneous and phased” steps, with concessions from its side matched by similar steps from Washington.