China may be exerting ‘negative pressure’ on North Korea

“I have confidence that Kim Jong-un will honor the contract we signed and, even more importantly, our handshake”, he said, before suggesting that China was attempting to strain relations between the USA and North Korea because of Trump’s trade tariffs.

In his comments to reporters before leaving Pyongyang, Pompeo said he and Kim Yong Chol had made “a great deal of progress” in some areas.

Skepticism has grown over how and whether North Korea will dismantle its nuclear weapons program amid US media reports that the country has continued to develop nuclear facilities.

Senior North Korea official Kim Yong Chol agreed with Pompeo’s remarks, adding that there were areas which Pyongyang needed to shed light on.

Speaking in Tokyo after meeting with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Pompeo said Sunday that denuclearization will be hard and that much work remains.

“We were able to reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the continued strengthening of our trilateral cooperation toward the common goal of North Korea’s complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement” of all nuclear weapons and missiles, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told a joint press conference.

Today’s meeting follows three hours of talks at the Baekhwawon state guest house in Pyongyang on Friday, following the USA delegation’s arrival in Pyongyang just before noon.

The DPRK felt deep regret over the attitude of the US delegation led by Pompeo at the high-level talks held Friday and Saturday with DPRK officials, a spokesman of the country’s Foreign Ministry said.

“I think it was a pretty bad start to the process, but it doesn’t mean it’s over yet”, said Hill, noting that North Korea talks were tough by nature.

According to the Pentagon, North Korean officials have indicated in the past that they have the remains of as many as 200 US troops.

United States negotiators and their North Korean counterparts discussed the idea of Pyongyang making a full declaration of its weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and setting a timeline for giving them up, Pompeo said on Saturday.

However, the spokesman said the United States had come up with a variety of “conditions and excuses” to delay a declaration on ending the war.

That change raised suspicion that the U.S. was softening its demands for the country, an argument that State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert had insisted on Friday wasn’t true.

It was uncertain whether Pompeo would meet with Kim Jong Un as he did on his previous trips before heading later in the day for Tokyo.

President Donald Trump was accused of forcing the North Korea summit “for headlines” by MSNBC host Joe Scarborough.

In his assessment Mr Pompeo gave little away, but he said they had discussed at length a timeline for disarmament, including the destruction of a missile engine testing facility.

On Sunday, during their 40-minute trilateral meeting, Pompeo briefed Kono and Kang about the results of his latest talks with the North, Kang said. If not, his high-stakes North Korea gambit could join a long list of failed nuclear deals with Pyongyang.

“However, the attitude and stance the United States showed in the first high-level meeting (between the countries) was no doubt regrettable”, the spokesman said. “It can be your miracle in North Korea as well”, Mr Pompeo said.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said there was never an expectation that Pompeo would meet with Kim, although other USA government officials previously indicated that was the plan.