Washington DC, July 30: United States secretary of state Mike Pompeo is “hopeful” that the working-level negotiations held with North Korea will relaunch “very soon”.
On Monday, addressing The Economic Club of Washington DC, Pompeo said he hoped there are “creative solutions to unlocking” a deadlock over the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in return of sanctions relief.
Pompeo was quoted by Yonhap News Agency as saying, “We hope that he can see his way clear, so we can get that brighter future that President (Donald) Trump has talked about.”
According to ANI news reports, while replying to a query over a planned third summit between US President Donald Trump and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un, Pompeo stressed there’s “nothing in the works”.
Claiming he has spent most of the time with Kim than any other American, the state secretary called N Korean leader as a “bright” person.
Pompeo said, “He’s bright. He has managed to rise to the level of leadership in a difficult environment where he was a very young man, when his time came. From my very first interaction with him, he’s been very candid with me about the things that are important to him, the priority set and how the negotiations might proceed.”
The top diplomat added, “He’s now repeated that he’s prepared to denuclearize. It’s not time to execute.”
Pompeo’s remarks come after Pyongyang recently launched its two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in the midst of the stalled denuclearization talks between the US and the communist nation.