This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/05/mike-pompeo-north-kroea-visit-pressure-nuclear-progress
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Mike Pompeo holds nuclear talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang | Mike Pompeo holds nuclear talks with North Korean officials in Pyongyang |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Mike Pompeo and a US delegation held talks in Pyongyang with North Korean officials on Friday, in an effort to make progress towards disarmament and improved bilateral relations three weeks after Donald Trump’s Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un. | Mike Pompeo and a US delegation held talks in Pyongyang with North Korean officials on Friday, in an effort to make progress towards disarmament and improved bilateral relations three weeks after Donald Trump’s Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un. |
| The US secretary of state is seeking to persuade the North Korean leadership to take concrete steps that Trump said he was promised in Singapore, including the destruction of a missile engine testing site and the repatriation of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean war. | The US secretary of state is seeking to persuade the North Korean leadership to take concrete steps that Trump said he was promised in Singapore, including the destruction of a missile engine testing site and the repatriation of remains of US soldiers killed in the Korean war. |
| Pompeo is also asking for more substantial steps towards disarmament, reportedly including an inventory of the North Korean arsenal of warheads and missiles. | Pompeo is also asking for more substantial steps towards disarmament, reportedly including an inventory of the North Korean arsenal of warheads and missiles. |
| “Our leaders made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearisation of North Korea and outlined what a transformed US-DPRK relationship could look like,” Pompeo said on the way to Pyongyang. | “Our leaders made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearisation of North Korea and outlined what a transformed US-DPRK relationship could look like,” Pompeo said on the way to Pyongyang. |
| “Since the summit the consultations have continued. On this trip I’m seeking to fill in some details on those commitments and continue the momentum toward implementation of what the two leaders promised each other and the world. I expect that the DPRK [North Korea] is ready to do the same.” | “Since the summit the consultations have continued. On this trip I’m seeking to fill in some details on those commitments and continue the momentum toward implementation of what the two leaders promised each other and the world. I expect that the DPRK [North Korea] is ready to do the same.” |
| He is under time pressure to produce results by August, when the US and South Korea were due to hold joint military exercises. Those exercises were cancelled on Trump’s orders in Singapore as an up-front concession. Adding to the pressure, the president has repeatedly claimed that the testing site has already been destroyed, and that the soldiers’ remains have been sent back, neither of which has happened. | He is under time pressure to produce results by August, when the US and South Korea were due to hold joint military exercises. Those exercises were cancelled on Trump’s orders in Singapore as an up-front concession. Adding to the pressure, the president has repeatedly claimed that the testing site has already been destroyed, and that the soldiers’ remains have been sent back, neither of which has happened. |
| Trump has also made extravagant claims about what was agreed in Singapore. At a rally in Montana on Thursday, he claimed: “We signed a wonderful paper saying they’re going to denuclearise their whole thing. It’s going to all happen.” | Trump has also made extravagant claims about what was agreed in Singapore. At a rally in Montana on Thursday, he claimed: “We signed a wonderful paper saying they’re going to denuclearise their whole thing. It’s going to all happen.” |
| In a joint statement with Trump, Kim agreed to move towards “complete denuclearisation” but that has been a stock phrase in North Korean rhetoric since 1992 and signifies a vague and long-term process of multilateral disarmament on the Korean peninsula. Since the Singapore meeting, satellite images and intelligence leaks have suggested that North Korea is upgrading critical parts of its nuclear programme. | In a joint statement with Trump, Kim agreed to move towards “complete denuclearisation” but that has been a stock phrase in North Korean rhetoric since 1992 and signifies a vague and long-term process of multilateral disarmament on the Korean peninsula. Since the Singapore meeting, satellite images and intelligence leaks have suggested that North Korea is upgrading critical parts of its nuclear programme. |
| Even while Pompeo has been in Pyongyang, new satellite pictures were published by the website 38 North, showing work had been completed on the cooling plant for a new nuclear reactor. | |
| Unnamed US intelligence officials also concluded that North Korea does not intend to completely give up its nuclear stockpile. | Unnamed US intelligence officials also concluded that North Korea does not intend to completely give up its nuclear stockpile. |
| In Pyongyang on Friday, Pompeo met Kim Yong-chol, North Korea’s former spy chief and vice-chair of the ruling party, in an extensive guest house in Pyongyang, close to a vast mausoleum where North Korea’s former leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, are buried. | In Pyongyang on Friday, Pompeo met Kim Yong-chol, North Korea’s former spy chief and vice-chair of the ruling party, in an extensive guest house in Pyongyang, close to a vast mausoleum where North Korea’s former leaders, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, are buried. |
| Welcoming Pompeo and the US team to the first session of talks, Kim Yong-chol, said: “The more you come, more trust we can build between one another.” | Welcoming Pompeo and the US team to the first session of talks, Kim Yong-chol, said: “The more you come, more trust we can build between one another.” |
| “Today’s meeting is a really meaningful meeting,” the 73-year-old general said.Pompeo replied: “Yes, I agree I look forward to it and I count on it being very productive.” | “Today’s meeting is a really meaningful meeting,” the 73-year-old general said.Pompeo replied: “Yes, I agree I look forward to it and I count on it being very productive.” |
| Noting it was his third visit to Pyongyang, he joked: “If I come one more time, I will have to pay taxes here.” | Noting it was his third visit to Pyongyang, he joked: “If I come one more time, I will have to pay taxes here.” |
| Earlier, Pompeo laughed but did not reply to a question about a South Korean report that he had brought a CD of Elton John’s Rocket Man, as a gift for Kim Jong-un. “Rocket Man” was the nickname Trump gave to Kim when tensions between the two countries reached a peak last year. | Earlier, Pompeo laughed but did not reply to a question about a South Korean report that he had brought a CD of Elton John’s Rocket Man, as a gift for Kim Jong-un. “Rocket Man” was the nickname Trump gave to Kim when tensions between the two countries reached a peak last year. |
| The meeting lasted two hours and 45 minutes and Pompeo then had dinner with his senior aides. The next session is due to start at 9am. It is unclear whether Pompeo will meet Kim Jong-un on this trip. | The meeting lasted two hours and 45 minutes and Pompeo then had dinner with his senior aides. The next session is due to start at 9am. It is unclear whether Pompeo will meet Kim Jong-un on this trip. |
| There were reports before Pompeo began his visit, that he might relax the US demand for complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament (CVID), and settle for mutual confidence-building measures that defused tensions without dismantling the North Korean arsenal. | There were reports before Pompeo began his visit, that he might relax the US demand for complete, verifiable, irreversible disarmament (CVID), and settle for mutual confidence-building measures that defused tensions without dismantling the North Korean arsenal. |
| His spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, denied those reports on Thursday, saying: “Nothing could be further from the truth. Our policy toward North Korea has not changed. | His spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, denied those reports on Thursday, saying: “Nothing could be further from the truth. Our policy toward North Korea has not changed. |
| “We are committed to a denuclearised North Korea and Secretary Pompeo looks forward to continuing his consultations with North Korean leaders to follow up on the commitments made at the Singapore summit,” Nauert added. | “We are committed to a denuclearised North Korea and Secretary Pompeo looks forward to continuing his consultations with North Korean leaders to follow up on the commitments made at the Singapore summit,” Nauert added. |
| Pompeo will also use his trip to consult and reassure Washington’s allies in the region, with meetings planned with Japanese and South Korean officials in Tokyo on Sunday. Japan has voiced support for the leaders’ Singapore declaration, but reacted cautiously to Trump’s decision to cancel joint military exercises. | Pompeo will also use his trip to consult and reassure Washington’s allies in the region, with meetings planned with Japanese and South Korean officials in Tokyo on Sunday. Japan has voiced support for the leaders’ Singapore declaration, but reacted cautiously to Trump’s decision to cancel joint military exercises. |
| Mike Pompeo | Mike Pompeo |
| North Korea | North Korea |
| Asia Pacific | Asia Pacific |
| Nuclear weapons | Nuclear weapons |
| Kim Jong-un | Kim Jong-un |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |