Pompeo made similar remarks Wednesday in Seoul, expressing frustration with reporters who questioned why a joint statement on denuclearization signed by President Donald Trump and\u2026<\/b>
\nPompeo made similar remarks Wednesday in Seoul, expressing frustration with reporters who questioned why a joint statement on denuclearization signed by President Donald Trump and dictator Kim Jong-un did not include language that Pompeo had previously stated would be necessary to broker a deal: \u201ccomplete, verifiable, irreversible\u201d denuclearization.
While the Trump administration has been consistent in stating publicly that it would not lift sanctions on the regime before denuclearization was complete, North Korea\u2019s state media have repeatedly stated that Trump said something else in private with Kim.
During his joint press briefing with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, Pompeo insisted that Kim Jong-un, following his meeting with Trump Tuesday, understood that no sanctions relief would come until he began dismantling his nuclear program in earnest.
Pompeo stated:
\u201cLet me be very blunt. President Trump has been incredibly clear about the sequencing of denuclearizations and relief from the sanctions,\u201d Pompeo added. \u201cWe\u2019re going to get complete denuclearization; only then will there be relief from the sanctions.\u201d
Pompeo insisted that \u201ccomplete\u201d denuclearization would require verification and proof that the process was irreversible, that North Korea could not immediately restart its nuclear program if talks hit a wall.
During a press briefing in Seoul Wednesday, Pompeo chided reporters who questioned why the words \u201cirreversible\u201d and \u201cverifiable\u201d were not part of Trump and Kim\u2019s Singapore declaration.
\u201cA lot has been made of the fact that the word \u2018verifiable\u2019 didn\u2019t appear in the agreement. Let me assure you that the \u2018complete\u2019 encompasses verifiable in the minds of everyone concerned. One can\u2019t completely denuclearize without validating, authenticating \u2013 you pick the word,\u201d Pompeo stated.
When a reporter noted that the words \u201cverifiable\u201d and \u201cirreversible\u201d were not in the statement, Pompeo said that was \u201cjust wrong\u201d and that those words were there. The text of the joint statement reads, \u201cThe DPRK commits to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.\u201d
\u201cJust so you know, you could ask me this \u2013 I find that question insulting and ridiculous and, frankly, ludicrous,\u201d Pompeo said of a question on why the words were not in the statement. \u201cI just have to be honest with you. It\u2019s a game, and one ought not play games with serious matters like this.\u201d
Pompeo also noted he was \u201cnot concerned\u201d that North Korean state media had repeatedly said that Trump had agreed to lift sanctions on the rogue communist regime.
\u201cI am confident that they understand what we\u2019re prepared to do, a handful of things we\u2019re likely not prepared to do.\u2026 I am equally confident they understand that there will be in-depth verification,\u201d Pompeo insisted.
North Korea\u2019s state newspaper Rodong Sinmun announced Wednesday that Trump had agreed to lift sanctions on the regime following the \u201cepoch-making meeting much awaited by the whole world\u201d between Kim and Trump. On Thursday, North Korean state television finally aired footage of the meeting between the president and the dictator, again stating Trump had agreed to lift sanctions on the regime.
The sanctions are considered the heaviest ever put on the Kim regime. When they finally passed the United Nations Security Council late last year, North Korea\u2019s Foreign Ministry called them \u201can act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean peninsula.\u201d
\u201cThere is no more fatal blunder than the miscalculation that the U. S. and its followers could check by already worn-out \u2018sanctions\u2019 the victorious advance of our people who have brilliantly accomplished the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force,\u201d the statement warned .
Trump did announce an end to joint military exercises with South Korea after his meeting with Kim.
\u201cWe will be stopping the war games which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should. But we\u2019ll be saving a tremendous amount of money, plus I think it\u2019s very provocative,\u201d Trump said on Tuesday.
That statement appeared to be a surprise to the South Korean government, which issued a statement saying it still needed to figure out the exact meaning of Trump\u2019s words. On Thursday, the office of leftist President Moon Jae-in said, \u201cIf North Korea implements denuclearization measures and sincere dialogue continues between South Korea and the North, the North and the United States, to ease their hostile relations, the country needs to flexibly change its military pressure against the North in the spirit of building mutual trust as agreed in the Panmunjom Declaration.\u201d
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter .<\/p>\n

\n

Similarity rank: 6.6<\/div>\n

Sentiment rank: 0.5<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

TW posts: 14<\/div>\n

TW reposts: 2<\/div>\n

TW likes: 4<\/div>\n

TW sentiment: -10<\/div>\n<\/div>\n