U.S. says N. Korea sanctions continue until ‘denuclearization’ occurs
ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to reporters at United Nations headquarters in July. Pompeo will preside over the second meeting Thursday on North Korea, an issue the Security Council was united on in imposing increasingly tough sanctions.
NEW YORK >> Top U.S. diplomat Mike Pompeo says economic sanctions on North Korea won’t be reduced until it completes “denuclearization” after leader Kim Jong Un offered to close the North’s main nuclear site in exchange for U.S. concessions.
Kim said last week he was willing to dismantle the Nyongbyon nuclear complex in the presence of outside inspectors if the U.S. takes unspecified “corresponding measures.” He also promised to dismantle the North’s main rocket launch site.
That helped revive U.S.-North Korea diplomacy that had failed to make headway since President Donald Trump met Kim in Singapore in June. But U.S. officials have yet to signal a readiness to provide incentives that Pyongyang wants.
Pompeo has invited Kim for a meeting on the sidelines of the world leaders’ gathering at the U.N. this week.
