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Reuters

After being accused of “gangster-like diplomacy” by North Korea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo brushed off the charges on Sunday, saying he would continue to pursue denuclearisation talks with North Korea.
After meeting his Japanese and South Korean counterparts in Tokyo, Pompeo said he was confident North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would stick to a commitment made during a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last month to destroy his nuclear weapons.
North Korea walks back pledge to denuclearise after Pompeo visit
“When we spoke to them about denuclearisation, they did not push back,” Pompeo told a news conference after two days of talks in Pyongyang that ended on Saturday.
“The road ahead will be difficult and challenging and we know that critics will try to minimise the work that we’ve achieved.”

Leading US senators expressed concern about North Korea’s harsh words and urged the Trump administration to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang.
Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said joint military exercises with South Korea that were suspended to show goodwill towards North Korea should be resumed “soon” if denuclearisation talks sputter.
Pompeo said that while he saw progress in Pyongyang, the United States was not relaxing the current sanctions or changing its “ironclad” commitment to the defence of allies South Korea and Japan.
How Kim Jong-un is schooling Trump in the art of the phantom deal
Pompeo spoke after North Korea said the talks “brought us in a dangerous situation where we may be shaken in our unshakeable will for denuclearisation, rather than consolidating trust.”
The statement was carried by the official KCNA news agency on Saturday soon after Pompeo left Pyongyang, raising questions about the future of the talks in which he is trying to persuade Pyongyang to give up a nuclear weapons programme that threatens the United States.
Kim made a broad commitment in Singapore to “work toward denuclearisation” but did not give details on how or when he would dismantle North Korea’s nuclear programme.
https://multimedia.scmp



Trump in turn offered security guarantees to Pyongyang and pledged a halt to the large-scale military drills with South Korea.
North Korea’s latest comments were a reminder of the difficulties that previous US administrations have had negotiating with the reclusive state.
Leaked US intelligence findings have concluded that North Korea does not intend to give up its nuclear programme completely.
Pompeo said he did not meet Kim on his latest visit to Pyongyang, as he had done twice before, and he had not anticipated doing so. The White House said before the trip that he would meet Kim.
North Korea invites Xi Jinping to national day celebrations
In a speech on Sunday in Vietnam, Pompeo urged North Korea to follow the example of Vietnam, saying he believed Pyongyang could replicate Hanoi’s path to normal relations with Washington and to prosperity.
“The United States has been clear on what we seek from North Korea …,” Pompeo said in Hanoi. “The choice now lies with North Korea and its people.
“If they are able to do this, they will be remembered, and Chairman Kim will be remembered, as a hero of the Korean people.”

Some analysts and lawmakers have expressed alarm that the talks appear to have run into difficulties, although others see a possible North Korean negotiating ploy.
One US senator pointed a finger at China for encouraging North Korea to be tougher.
“I see China’s hands all over this,” said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, saying he thought the Chinese were “pulling back” North Korea because of the ongoing US-China trade dispute.
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said on Twitter there was a danger of military action because Trump might now claim he had tried diplomacy but was betrayed by Kim.
How China would benefit the most from a nuclear-free North Korea
“But a rushed summit and demands that NK denuclearise in short order or else is not a serious test of diplomacy,” Haass tweeted.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said her country did not believe the United States had softened its demands on Pyongyang, as some US officials and analysts have suggested.
“Secretary Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang this time has taken the first steps,” she said. “We expect this to be followed up by further constructive and productive negotiations.”

After he met Japan’s minister of foreign affairs, Taro Kono, Pompeo said he was in Tokyo to discuss the US alliance with Japan and maintaining “maximum pressure” on North Korea, an expression Trump’s administration had backed away from after the Singapore summit.
Pompeo said in Tokyo he had pushed North Korea on a promise to destroy a missile engine test site.
He also said talks had yielded an agreement to form a “working level” group to oversee day-to-day interactions between the United States and North Korea.
Officials from the two sides would meet next week in Panmunjom, on the border between the two Koreas, to discuss the return of the remains of roughly 7,000 US soldiers missing since the Korean war.
KCNA said Pyongyang had offered to discuss declaring a formal end to the Korean war to mark next month’s anniversary of the armistice agreement.
It said the US side had shown little interest, giving “certain conditions and excuses”.


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US Secretary of State shakes off ‘gangster’ criticism from North Korea, says nuclear deal still on

North Korea accuses US secretary of state of making ‘gangster-like’ demands. A senator sees ‘China’s hands all over this.’

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo(C) accompanied by US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink(2ndL), walks through the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam on July 8, 2018. Pompeo is on a trip traveling to North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, and Brussels. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Andrew Harnik

From left, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha speak with each other following a news conference at the Iikura Guest House in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, July 8, 2018. Pompeo wrapped up two days of talks in the North Korean capital on Saturday on an optimistic note even without meeting Kim Jong Un, as he had on his previous two trips. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

People on a bus watch as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo walks through the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam, Sunday, July 8, 2018. Pompeo is on a trip traveling to North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi and Brussels. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, escorted by Kim Yong-choi, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, in Pyongyang on Saturday.

North Korea slams US ‘gangster-like’ demands after disarmament talks. But is this a negotiating tactic?

Different descriptions of meeting raised fears that disarmament negotiations may be doomed before they really begin

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, speaks to Kim Yong Chol, foreground, a North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, for a second day of talks at the Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea, Saturday, July 7, 2018. Pompeo is on a trip traveling to North Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Abu Dhabi, and Brussels. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

(L-R) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korea's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha pose for photographs during their meeting at Iikura Guest House in Tokyo in Tokyo on July 8, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Andrew Harnik

The North Korean statement came in stark comparison to Mike Pompeo’s comments before flying to Tokyo, Photo: AP

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives in Pyongyang to clarify ‘details’ of North Korea’s denuclearisation

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo being greeted by North Korean Director of the United Front Department Kim Yong-chol. Photo: Reuters

White House says US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to head back to North Korea for new talks with Kim Jong-un

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on June 27. Photo: Sipa USA/TNS

Sung Kim, U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, in Singapore on June 11, 2018. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by SeongJoon Cho.

Mike Pompeo reportedly plans to give Kim Jong-un a ‘Rocket Man’ CD at nuclear talks this week

In this May 9 file photo provided by the North Korean government, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, North Korea. Pompeo is due to arrive in North Korea for more talks on Friday. Photo: AP

How Kim Jong-un is schooling Donald Trump in the art of the phantom deal

Pyongyang is breaking a promise to ‘denuclearise’ by luring the US to the bargaining table for concessions while continuing nuclear activities, Edward Howell writes

FILE - This Aug. 29, 2017, file photo by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the test launch of a Hwasong-12 intermediate range missile in Pyongyang, North Korea. Three weeks after the U.S.-North Korea summit and ahead of an impending trip to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a leaked U.S. intelligence report and an analysis of satellite data suggest the North may be continuing its nuclear and missile activities despite a pledge to denuclearize. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

FILE - In this file photo Sept. 18, 2017 provided by South Korea Defense Ministry, U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber, F-35B stealth fighter jets and South Korean F-15K fighter jets fly over the Korean Peninsula during a joint drills, South Korea. The Pentagon on Monday, June 18, 2018, formally suspended a major military exercise planned for August with South Korea, a much-anticipated move stemming from President Donald Trump's nuclear summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (South Korea Defense Ministry via AP, File)

FILE - This undated file photo distributed by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Three weeks after the U.S.-North Korea summit and ahead of an impending trip to North Korea by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, a leaked U.S. intelligence report and an analysis of satellite data suggest the North may be continuing its nuclear and missile activities despite a pledge to denuclearize. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

North Korea leader Kim Jong-un (left) and US President Donald Trump wrap up their Singapore meeting. Photo: AP

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Diplomacy

North Korea accuses US secretary of state of making ‘gangster-like’ demands. A senator sees ‘China’s hands all over this.’


North Korea accuses US secretary of state of making ‘gangster-like’ demands.


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Trump-Kim summit

US Secretary of State shakes off ‘gangster’ criticism from North Korea, says nuclear deal still on

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}North Korea accuses US secretary of state of making ‘gangster-like’ demands. A senator sees ‘China’s hands all over this.’

North Korea accuses US secretary of state of making ‘gangster-like’ demands. A senator sees ‘China’s hands all over this.’