Sanctions on North Korea will remain until the country achieves “fully verified final” denuclearisation, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday, two days after he held meetings in Pyongyang. Pompeo is now in Tokyo.
Pompeo said he had “lengthy discussions” about complete denuclearisation with North Korean officials. “Across the range of weapons and missiles, it’s a broad definition of denuclearisation, and the North Koreans understand that and have not challenged that,” he said.
On Saturday, Pompeo said that talks with his North Korean counterpart on how to dismantle Pyongyang’s nuclear programme had been “very productive”. However, hours later, North Korea accused Washington of trying to unilaterally pressure the country into abandoning its nuclear programme, and rejected what it called a “gangster-like” demand.
Pompeo had met North Korean senior official Kim Yong-chol, who played a key role in arranging last month’s summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.
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