Speaking in Tokyo after holding meetings in Pyongyang, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that Washington would continue enforcing sanctions until North Korea achieves final denuclearization, Sputnik news reported.
Pompeo is in Tokyo to brief his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on the talks, which he has characterised as productive. However, shortly after he left North Korea, Pyongyang has issued a statement slamming what it described as Washington's "gangster-like" demand for a rapid nuclear dismantling.
"Across the range of weapons and missiles, it's broad definition of denuclearization, and the North Koreans understand that and have not challenged that," US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quoted as saying by AFP. "There will be a verification connected to the complete denuclearization, it's what President Trump and Chairman Kim both agreed to," Pompeo said at a press conference with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts.
In turn, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said at a meeting with US Secretary of State that Japanese government wants to solve problems of national and regional security in cooperation with the United States.
Pompeo, on his part, thanked Abe for the efforts to strengthen the bilateral relationship that helps ensure peace in the region.
"The missile and nuclear programs of North Korea, as well as the problem of abducted Japanese nationals, are important issues for maintenance of peace and stability in Japan and the region. Japan and the United States would like to address these issues in close cooperation," Shinzo Abe was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency.
On Friday, Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang for a two-day visit, where he was set to discuss denuclearization in the light of commitments made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during the historic summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore. The US top diplomat held talks with Kim Yong Chol, the vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers Party Central Committee.
Following the visit, Pompeo noted a progress in the talks, in particular, on destruction of a North Korean missile engine testing facility.
In turn, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said that the vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers Party Central Committee had handed Pompeo a letter for Donald Trump from Kim Jong-un.