WASHINGTON: The United States voiced hope Friday (Mar 15) that nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea would continue following reports that Pyongyang is considering suspending…
WASHINGTON: The United States voiced hope Friday (Mar 15) that nuclear disarmament negotiations with North Korea would continue following reports that Pyongyang is considering suspending the talks.
Russian news agency TASS said the North’s vice foreign minister Choe Son-Hui had rejected yielding to « US demands in any form, » after the Hanoi summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump ended without agreement in February.
« We are hopeful that we can continue to hold this conversation, » US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters in Washington.
The report came amid concerns over the North’s satellite rocket launch site, where some rebuilding activity has been observed in recent weeks, triggering international alarm that Pyongyang might be preparing a long-range missile or space launch.
Trump told a post-summit press conference in Hanoi that the North Korean leader had promised he would maintain his moratorium on missile and nuclear tests.
Kim was due soon to make an official statement on the actions his country would take, Choe told reporters and foreign diplomats in Pyongyang.
« In Hanoi on multiple occasions, (Kim) spoke directly to the president and made a commitment that he would not resume nuclear testing, nor would he resume missile testing, » Pompeo said.
