Despite a fresh North Korean missile test, the United States has reaffirmed its intention to negotiate with Pyongyang on denuclearization.
“WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO WORK TOWARDS A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION”
Speaking to Fox News on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “We still have every intention of negotiating a good resolution with North Korea to get them to denuclearize.”
The North Korean leader personally inspected the test firing of what is reported as an “unidentified short-range missile” in the East Sea over the weekend.
Pyongyang is under severe moratorium by UN to test any kind of nuclear weaponry since 2006 when it unilaterally test-fired nuclear weapons.
“We’ve known it would be a long path. We’ve known it wouldn’t be straightforward. But I have extended our negotiating hand to the North Koreans since Hanoi. We’ve heard back from them. I extend my hand to continue those negotiations. We want to continue to work towards a peaceful resolution to achieve denuclearization,” Pompeo told the interview.
Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met for the second time in Hanoi last February to strike a deal on denuclearization, however, the summit broke mid-way without reaching a deal. Pyongyang has demanded the removal of Pompeo from the negotiating team.