Trump wants North Korea summit only if 'real progress' possible, says Mike Pompeo

US State Secretary Mike Pompeo downplayed the possibility of any summit with North Korea, saying President Donald Trump wants to engage only if there was a likelihood of real progress. In a live-streamed interview with The Hill, the top US diplomat said that the North Koreans have been giving mixed signals, reiterating US condition of “real progress” in achieving the outcomes set forth in Singapore in June 2018.

Pompeo said that the Trump administration has been trying to have informed discussions with the North Koreans and emphasised the importance of the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. He added that North Koreans have chosen not to engage in a way that can lead to a potential solution.

Earlier this month, Stephen Biegun, who led the talks for denuclearisation as Special Representative for North Korea, met South Korean and Japanese officials to further "strengthen coordination on the final, fully verified denuclearisation". The visit sparked speculations around US President Donald Trump’s final effort to revive talks before the upcoming presidential elections.

The State Secretary expressed hope that North Korea will change its mind and engage in a dialogue so that the US can get to the “right outcome”. He said that the US will continue with its mission of denuclearisation, highlighting that the Trump administration has avoided nuclear testing and firing of a long-range missile by North Korea.

Read: North Korea: Satellite Images Show Recent Activity At Undeclared Nuclear Site

North Korea slams US

In June, Pyongyang had sent a stinging message to Washington after two years of Singapore Summit attended by North Korea’s Kim Jong Un and Trump. According to the state-run KCNA, North’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Son Gwon said that the US professes to be an advocate for improved relations but is hell-bent on exacerbating the situation. 

Ri hit out at the US for its military support for South Korea and blamed the Trump administration for worsening situation in the Korean peninsula. The minister reportedly said that the US has introduced a large number of stealth fighters and reconnaissance drones to help South Korean army take an offensive posture, with authorities burdened with the payment of an “astronomical amount” of money.

“The U.S. administration, through the two years of totally unjust and anachronistic practices, laid bare openly that its much-claimed ‘improvement of relations’ between the DPRK and U.S. means nothing but a regime change,” KCNA quoted Ri as saying.

Read: US Envoy Wraps Up Seoul Visit Amid Stalled Denuclearisation Talks With North Korea

(Image: AP)