It seems U.S. efforts to denuclearize North Korea as quickly as possible have been put on the back-burner for a while.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo now admits negotiations to dismantle the regime's nuclear weapons program "may take some time."
Lee Seung-jae reports.
A day after U.S. President Donald Trump stated there was "no time limit" attached to the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons program,... his top diplomat Mike Pompeo echoed his boss' remarks at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday,... saying the negotiations "may take some time".
Pompeo added that talks between the U.S. and North Korea "will be taking place against the backdrop of the continued enforcement of existing sanctions".
His assessment comes roughly five weeks after President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their summit in Singapore that Pyongyang would work towards the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula,... in exchange for security guarantees from the U.S.
Regarding the repatriation of American soldiers killed during the Korean War,...
Pompeo said North Korea is expected to repatriate the remains in the coming weeks,... calling it "commitment" made by the North.
A senior U.S. defense official says Washington hopes North Korea returns about 50 sets of remains within two weeks,... but the details are still thought to be sketchy.
This despite two days of talks between U.S. and North Korean officials on the matter at the inter-Korean border on Sunday and Monday.
Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang earlier this month,... hoping to agree a roadmap for the regime's denuclearization, but he left empty-handed... and progress has been slow ever since.
North Korea even issued an angry statement as soon as he left,... accusing his delegation of making "gangster-like" demands of the North.
However, despite the bluster, Pompeo is keeping his chin up,.. saying while more work is needed,... the two sides find themselves in a (quote) "very hopeful place."
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
