Pompeo rejects North Korea claims
US: Sanctions to remain until nukes are gone
Crippling international sanctions on North Korea will not be eased until “complete denuclearization” takes place, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, dismissing claims from Pyongyang that the U.S. had offered to drop some sanctions during the process.
Pompeo spoke in South Korea two days after the historic meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“We’re going to get denuclearization,” Pompeo said. “Only then will there be relief from sanctions.”
Pompeo also downplayed Trump’s claim that North Korea no longer represented a nuclear threat.
“When he talked about the reduction in nuclear threat ... it was with eyes wide open,” Pompeo said. “It could be the case that our effort will not work, but we are determined to set the conditions.”
The declaration signed by the leaders was vague, stating that the two nations would cooperate toward “new relations,” with the U.S. giving undefined security guarantees to North Korea.
Afterward, Trump said sanctions would remain in place for now but that the U.S. would halt the military drills with South Korea that riled Kim over the years.
“We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should,” Trump said.
A halt in the exercises, in return for denuclearization, had been suggested by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian leader Vladimir Putin months ago. Still, Trump’s remarks came as a surprise in South Korea, where the exercises are viewed as a crucial deterrent.
The thaw between the two Koreas continued Thursday, with the nations agreeing to restore military communication lines, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported.