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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he told Kim Jong-un that North Korea would have to agree to take "irreversible" steps toward shutting their nuclear weapons program in any deal with US President Donald Trump.
Key points:
- Mr Pompeo said there is a "real opportunity" for the two leaders to strike a deal
- However he said the US "has its eyes wide open" ahead of the talks
- Mr Trump is particularly concerned about US citizens detained in North Korea
"We use the word 'irreversible' with great intention," Mr Pompeo told America's ABC News.
"We are going to require those steps that demonstrate that denuclearisation is going to be achieved."
Mr Pompeo's comments were the most extensive yet regarding his Easter weekend talks in Pyongyang with Mr Kim in preparation for a summit next month between the North Korean leader and Mr Trump.
Mr Pompeo, the former CIA director who was sworn in as the top US diplomat on Thursday, said his meeting with Mr Kim was "a productive one" and that he left Pyongyang convinced there is "a real opportunity" for the North Korean leader and Mr Trump to strike a deal.
Mr Kim expressed his readiness to discuss Mr Trump's demand "and to lay out a map that will help us achieve that objective," Mr Pompeo said.
At the same time, he said the US "has its eyes wide open" when it comes to North Korea's history of broken promises in previous negotiations.
"We're not going to take words. We're going to look for actions and deeds," Mr Pompeo said.
"And until such time, the President has made incredibly clear we will keep the pressure campaign in place until we achieve that."
His assessment likely will add to hopes for a breakthrough that brings peace to the divided Korean peninsula following a historic summit last week between Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at which the pair vowed "complete denuclearisation".
While Pyongyang said it will close its nuclear test site next month, Mr Kim and Mr Moon did not outline concrete measures to be taken to achieve that goal of denuclearisation.
Detained US citizens on Trump's mind
Mr Pompeo made clear that Mr Trump will be seeking Mr Kim's commitment to such steps, and added that the United States will also take matching actions, without providing details.
Mr Trump's new national security adviser John Bolton said in an interview with CBS News, also aired on Sunday, that Mr Kim may have "concrete and tangible" ideas about giving up his nuclear arms program "and we should hear him out".
But he and Mr Pompeo cautioned that North Korea has a history of reneging on its commitments.
Mr Bolton said that a recent absence of weapons and missile tests by North Korea "could be a very positive sign" or a sign that the programs have reached advanced stages and testing is no longer needed.
Mr Pompeo said that at Mr Trump's direction, he spoke with Mr Kim about the release of three US citizens detained by North Korea. He did not elaborate on the outcome of that discussion.
North Korea "should look at this very seriously," Mr Bolton said about releasing the trio before the Trump-Kim meeting.
They are "very much on the president's mind" and freeing them would be a "demonstration of [North Korea's] sincerity," he said.
Pyongyang is holding two Korean-American academics and a Christian missionary, as well as a Canadian pastor and three South Korean nationals who were doing missionary work. Japan says at least several dozen of its nationals are being held in the country.
Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American student, died in June 2017 just days after he was released, in a coma, after 17 months of captivity.
Reuters
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, donald-trump, korea-democratic-peoples-republic-of, united-states, asia