Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview aired on Sunday that he told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that he will have to agree to take ”irreversible” steps toward shutting his nuclear weapons program in any deal with U.S. President Donald Trump.
“We use the word 'irreversible' with great intention,” Mr. Pompeo told ABC News. “We are going to require those steps that demonstrate that denuclearization is going to be achieved.”
Mr. Pompeo's comments were the most extensive yet regarding his Easter weekend talks in Pyongyang with Mr. Kim in preparation for a summit next month between the North Korean leader and Mr. Trump.
Mr. Pompeo, the former CIA director who was sworn in as the top U.S. diplomat on Thursday, said his meeting with Mr. Kim was “a productive one” and that he left Pyongyang convinced there is “a real opportunity” for the North Korean leader and Mr. Trump to strike a deal.
Mr. Kim expressed his readiness to discuss Mr. Trump's demand “and to lay out a map that will help us achieve that objective,” Mr. Pompeo said.
His assessment likely will add to hopes for a breakthrough that brings peace to the divided Korean peninsula following an historic summit last week between Mr. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at which the pair vowed “complete denuclearization.”
And while Pyongyang says it will close its nuclear test site next month, Mr. Kim and Mr. Moon did not outline concrete measures to be taken to achieve that goal of denuclearization.
Mr. Pompeo made clear that Mr. Trump will be seeking Mr. Kim's commitment to such steps, and added that the United States will also take matching actions, without providing details.
Mr. Pompeo however cautioned that “there remains a great deal of work to do.” And he noted that previous North Korean promises “proved false or unworthy or they were incapable of keeping them.”
“Both countries will have to do more than words,” said Mr. Pompeo. He repeated that Mr. Trump will maintain a “pressure campaign” of harsh sanctions on impoverished North Korea until Mr. Kim shutters his nuclear weapons program.
Mr. Pompeo said that at Mr. Trump's direction, he spoke with Mr. Kim about the release of three U.S. citizens detained by North Korea. He did not elaborate on the outcome of that discussion.
