INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
To achieve a Nuclear free peninsula both side should take same steps
(Reuters)SEOUL: North Korea said on Saturday its resolve to give up its nuclear programmes may falter after talks with the United States in
Pyongyang, contradicting Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who lauded progress made on nearly all key issues.Pompeo had a day and a half of
talks in Pyongyang, seeking to hammer out details on how to dismantle North Korea's nuclear programmes, such as a timeline to
denuclearisation and a plan on declaring its related facilities.But the result of the negotiations was "extremely troubling," a North Korean
foreign ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, accusing Pompeo's delegation of insisting on
unilateral complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation (CVID)."We had anticipated the U.S
side would come with a constructive idea, thinking we would take something in return," the North Korean spokesperson said."But through the
high-level talks, the trust between the DPRK and the United States is facing a dangerous situation where our resolve for denuclearisation,
which has been firm and steadfast, may falter."The "fastest way" to achieve a nuclear-free Korean peninsula was through a phased approach
under which both sides took steps at the same time, the spokesperson said.There was no immediate comment from the State Department.As Pompeo
departed Pyongyang, he said he had made progress "on almost all of the central issues" in the talks, including on setting a timeline for its
denuclearisation, though more work remained to be done.Pompeo said the two sides agreed to hold discussions on July 12 on the repatriation
of remains of Americans killed in the 1950-53 Korean War, and also discussed "modalities" for the destruction of a missile engine testing
facility.Pompeo said he spent "a good deal of time" discussing a denuclearisation timeline and the declaration of the North's nuclear and
missile facilities."I think we made progress in every element of our discussions," he said, according to a pool report from U.S
reporters who accompanied him to Pyongyang."These are complicated issues but we made progress on almost all of the central issues
Some places a great deal of progress, other places there's still more work to be done," he said.U.S
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Pompeo did not meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as he had done on his two previous
visits to North Korea this year, but handed over a letter to him from U.S
President Donald Trump.A letter from Kim to Trump was also delivered to Pompeo through Kim Yong Chol, a top North Korean party official and
former spy agency chief, who was Pompeo's interlocutor and played a key role together in arranging an unprecedented summit between Trump and
Kim in Singapore on June 12."EQUALLY COMMITTED"Asked about reports based on U.S
intelligence assessments that North Korea had continued to develop its nuclear facilities even while engaging in dialogue, Pompeo said:"We
talked about what the North Koreans are continuing to do and how it's the case that we can get our arms around achieving what Chairman Kim
and President Trump both agreed to, which is the complete denuclearisation of North Korea."There is no - no one walked away from that,
they're still equally committed, Chairman Kim is still committed," he said.Nauert said the July 12 meeting, which Pompeo said would take
place at the intra-Korean border, would be at working level and involve U.S
Defense Department officials.Pompeo reiterated that Trump was "committed to a brighter future for North Korea".© Thomson Reuters
2018(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
