Pompeo says no timeline on N. Korea denuclearization steps

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would not put a timeline on denuclearization negotiations with North Korea. “Whether that's two months, six months, we are committed to moving forward in an expeditious moment to see if we can achieve what both leaders set out to do,” Pompeo told CNN in a phone interview Monday (local time).

Pompeo added he would “constantly reassess” whether enough progress is being made to continue negotiations, and suggested it was too soon to expect a detailed roadmap for denuclearization after 40 years of tensions between the United States and North Korea.

On June 14 after the North Korea-U.S. summit, Pompeo also said the Trump administration would like to see “major” North Korean nuclear disarmament in the next two and a half years, implying their target timeline for denuclearization was January of 2021 when Trump’s term would end. His no-timeline remark takes a step back from the previous stance, which is interpreted as an attempt to prepare for prolonged negotiation with Pyongyang.


Jeong-Hun Park sunshade@donga.com