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Pompeo Hopeful About North Korea Talks, but Sanctions Stay

by VOA News

   U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo continued Sunday to describe his
   conversations with senior North Korean officials as "productive," even
   though North Korean has issued a statement saying that Washington was
   "gangsterlike" in its insistence for rapid denuclearization.

   Pompeo said a news conference in Tokyo Sunday with his South Korean and
   Japanese counterparts that the North Korea diplomats "did not push
   back" in his discussions with them in Pyongyang. He said he is hopeful
   there will be a path forward in negotiations with North Korea.

   "Sanctions will remain in place until final, fully verified
   denuclearization as agreed to by Chairman Kim (Jong Un) occurs," Pompeo
   said. "While we are encouraged by the progress of these talks, progress
   alone does not justify the relaxation of the existing sanctions
   regime."

   As for North Korea's "gangsterlike" statement, Pompeo said:

   "If those requests were gangsterlike, the world is a gangster," he
   said, noting that numerous U.N. Security Council resolutions have
   demanded that the North rid itself of nuclear weapons and end its
   ballistic missile program.

   North Korea statement

   North Korea's Foreign Ministry said Saturday that discussions with
   Pompeo were "regrettable" and it accused Washington of attempting to
   unilaterally force Pyongyang to scrap its nuclear weapons program.

   A statement by an unnamed ministry spokesman was issued a few hours
   after Pompeo concluded two days of talks with Pyongyang's senior ruling
   party official, Kim Yong Chol, and other North Korean officials.

   The statement said the outcome of the talks were "very concerning"
   because it initiated a "dangerous phase that might rattle our
   willingness for denuclearization that had been firm."

   North Korea's official KCNA news agency described the talks as
   "extremely troubling" and cited an unnamed foreign ministry
   spokesperson as saying the "fastest way" to achieve a nuclear-free
   Korean Peninsula was through a phased, bilateral approach.

   The top U.S. diplomat said a large portion of the discussion was about
   a timeline for North Korea's denuclearization and a baseline
   declaration for its weapons of mass destruction. Pompeo did not divulge
   any details, but said, "We spent a good deal of time talking about each
   of those two things and I think we made progress in every element of
   our discussions."

   Next meeting July 12

   The secretary said a meeting has been scheduled for July 12 that "could
   move by one day or two" for conversations "between the folks
   responsible for the repatriation of remains" of Americans who died in
   the Korean War.

   Pompeo did not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. State
   Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said there was never any
   expectation of a meeting with Kim.

   This was Pompeo's third visit this year to North Korea and the first
   where he stayed overnight. It was also his first visit since President
   Trump met with Kim at last month's Singapore summit.

   Pompeo has been charged by Trump with overseeing Kim's promise at the
   summit to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.

   Nauert said Saturday that U.S. and North Korean officials have set up
   working groups to deal with "nitty gritty stuff," including validation
   of efforts to achieve denuclearization.

   She said Pompeo had been "very firm" in the discussions in seeking
   three basic goals: complete denuclearization of North Korea, security
   assurances, and the repatriation of remains of Americans who died in
   the Korean War.Nauert also said progress had been made in the
   secretary's meetings on Friday.

   Pompeo's latest trip to North Korea comes amid reports of American
   intelligence assessments that Kim is continuing to develop the
   infrastructure for his nuclear program. U.S. news accounts in recent
   days have shown pictures of what is said to be the expansion of
   nuclear-related buildings in North Korea.