US Secretary of State: North Korea still producing nuclear bomb fuel
Six weeks after the US-North Korea summit, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that North Korea continued to produce nuclear materials.
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| US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Photo: Reuters |
"They continue to produce nuclear material," Secretary of State Pompeo told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 25.
However, the US chief diplomat also affirmed that the process of denuclearization of North Korea "is making progress." He cited recent information that satellite images showed that North Korea appeared to have dismantled an important missile engine testing site.
He also called on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to fulfill his commitment made at the US-North Korea summit to move towards complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
"We are pursuing patient diplomacy, but we will not let this drag on indefinitely. I underscored this point in productive discussions with Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea," Pompeo said.
According to Mr. Pompeo, the goal of President Donald Trump's administration remains unchanged. "My own goal remains the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong-un," Mr. Pompeo said, adding that Washington wants this process to be completed before President Trump ends his first term in 2021.
The US diplomat once again called on the international community to continue sanctions against North Korea to pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program.