Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he was “encouraged” by the “historic” summit between the North and South Korea, and that he believes North leader Kim Jong-un is “serious” about reaching a deal to abandon his nuclear weapons program.
But Mr. Pompeo warned the Trump administration wants Pyongyang to act quickly toward verifiable denuclearization.
“Our objective remains unchanged. We’re committed to permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Koreans’ weapons of mass destruction programs without delay,” Mr. Pompeo told reporters in Brussels, where he was attending meetings at NATO headquarters.
“Until then, the global maximum pressure campaign will continue,” the secretary of state said. “The United States will not repeat the mistakes of the past. These talks and any others do not supersede any U.N. Security Council resolutions or any other sanctions.”
His comments came after Mr. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed a joint declaration affirming the “mutual goal” of pursuing “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula Friday.
While the joint statement was hailed as a breakthrough by many, uncertainty still abounds over the veracity of Mr. Kim’s commitment to abandon the nuclear program that Pyongyang has spent decades nefariously building in violation of U.N. sanctions.
Friday’s declaration said only broadly that Mr. Kim and Mr. Moon had “agreed to gradually realize arms reduction when their military tension is removed and trust is practically established.”
Analysts have expressed concern the North Korean leader is simply buying time — that he has no true intentions of giving up nuclear weapons, and is only willing to engage in diplomacy because he’s confident in his nation’s nuclear capabilities.
While such concerns hang in the backdrop, Mr. Pompeo said he wanted to “congratulate the Republic of Korea and North Korea on the historic meeting, and the Korean people’s aspirations for peace and prosperity.”
But the secretary of state went on to add: “Let there be no doubt: We would not be where we are today without President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign and the work that has been done all around the world to apply pressure to North Korea.”
“We are encouraged by President Moon and Leader Kim Jong-un’s stated goal of complete denuclearization,” Mr. Pompeo said, although he added, “we’re studying the declaration closely to understand whether Leader Kim made any new commitments.”
Friday’s developments set the stage for a historic face-to-face between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump expected later this spring. The prospects for such had already gotten a boost in recent weeks amid the revelation that Mr. Pompeo held a secret meeting with Mr. Kim in Pyongyang in early-April.
As the only Trump administration official to have actually met personally with the North Korean leader, Mr. Pompeo was asked by a reporter Friday whether he believed Mr. Kim is serious about reaching a deal on denuclearization.
“Yes, I did get a sense that he was serious,” Mr. Pompeo said, adding that the Trump-led global economic pressure that’s been placed on North Korea through sanctions has lead Mr. Kim “to believe that it’s in his best interest to come to the table and talk about denuclearization.”
But in a reference to failed past attempts at negotiating denuclearization with Pyongyang — the last round of talks melted down in 2009 — Mr. Pompeo said he’s “always careful.”
“There’s a lot of history here, where promises have been made, hopes have been raised and then dashed,” he said. “We’re going to work to get a [Trump-Kim] meeting set up.”
“In the event that it fails, respectfully, President Trump will walk away, and then the pressure will remain,” Mr. Pompeo said. “But in the event we reach a resolution, it would be a wonderful thing for the world.”
• Guy Taylor can be reached at gtaylor@washingtontimes.com.
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