US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that North Korea still remained a threat, a reversal to President Donald Trump’s remark that Pyongyang was no longer a nuclear threat to Washington.
When asked during a CNN interview on Sunday night if North Korea still remained a nuclear threat, Pompeo replied “yes”.
“What he (Trump) said was that the efforts that had been made in Singapore – this commitment that Chairman Kim (Jong-un) made – have substantially taken down the risk to the American people. It’s the mission of the Secretary of State and the President of the US to keep American people secure. We’re aiming to achieve that,” he added.
In June, Trump, having just returned to Washington from the first historic summit with Kim in Singapore, tweeted: “There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea.”
Trump is set to meet Kim for a second summit on Wednesday and Thursday in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Pompeo told CNN that Trump is focused on getting “a demonstrable, verifiable” step toward denuclearization during the summit.
“There are many things he could do to demonstrate his commitment to denuclearization,” Pompeo said.
The Secretary of State also said that core sanctions from the UN Security Council resolution on North Korea will be removed only after it fully denuclearizes, adding that the administration’s standard for removing sanctions has always been “full, verified denuclearization”.