US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has brushed off North Korean charges that he used "gangster-like" diplomacy in negotiations in Pyongyang, saying that he would continue to pursue denuclearisation talks with the regime.
Pompeo said in Tokyo on Sunday after meeting his Japanese and South Korean counterparts that there was still a lot of work to do, but he was confident North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would stick to a commitment to abandon nuclear weapons he made during a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last month.
"When we spoke to them about denuclearisation, they did not push back," Pompeo told a news conference after two days of talks in Pyongyang that ended on Saturday. "The road ahead will be difficult and challenging and we know that critics will try to minimise the work that we've achieved."
Leading US senators expressed concern about North Korea's harsh words and urged the Trump administration to keep up the pressure on Pyongyang. Republican Senator Joni Ernst, a member of the Armed Services Committee, said joint military exercises with South Korea that were suspended to show goodwill towards North Korea should be resumed "soon" if denuclearisation talks sputter.
Pompeo said that while he saw progress in Pyongyang, the US was not relaxing the current sanctions regime or changing its "ironclad" commitment to the defence of allies South Korea and Japan.
Pompeo spoke after North Korea said the talks "brought us in a dangerous situation where we may be shaken in our unshakable will for denuclearisation, rather than consolidating trust".
(L to R) U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korea's Foreign Minsiter Kang Kyung-wha in Tokyo. Source: Yomiuri Shimbun
In a speech on Sunday in Vietnam, Pompeo urged North Korea to follow the example of Vietnam, saying he believed Pyongyang could replicate Hanoi's path to normal relations with Washington and to prosperity.
"The United States has been clear on what we seek from North Korea...," Pompeo said in Hanoi. "The choice now lies with North Korea and its people. If they are able to do this, they will be remembered, and Chairman Kim will be remembered, as a hero of the Korean people."
Some analysts and lawmakers have expressed alarm that the talks appear to have run into difficulties, although others see a possible North Korean negotiating ploy. One US senator pointed a finger at China for encouraging North Korea to be tougher.
"I see China's hands all over this," said Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, saying he thought the Chinese were "pulling back" North Korea because of the ongoing US-China trade dispute.
Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, said on Twitter there was a danger of military action because Trump might now claim he had tried diplomacy but was betrayed by Kim.
"But a rushed summit and demands that NK denuclearise in short order or else is not a serious test of diplomacy," Haass tweeted.
