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The South Korean foreign minister, quoted by US officials, was quoted as saying that it was North Korea who canceled a meeting this week between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior North Korean official on the United States. nuclear issues.
North Korea sent a notification to Washington to cancel the meeting to discuss the denuclearization of the North and the establishment of a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha announced on Thursday.
Kang did not explain why North Korea had canceled the meeting in New York. Kang told lawmakers that she had planned to discuss the case with Pompeo over the phone. The South Korean presidential office said earlier that the postponement of the meeting would not affect the momentum of talks between Washington and Pyongyang.
"The United States informed us that North Korea had explained that (the meeting) should be postponed because both parties had a busy schedule," said Kang. "Secretary of State Pompeo has already announced that the meeting will be reprogrammed. I think it would be excessive to read too much in the report of the meeting. "
Trump told the press at the White House that the US was "in no hurry" and that the meeting between Pompeo and his North Korean counterpart Kim Yong Chol would be postponed.
US State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said the postponement was "just a matter of timing," but declined to say. He did not give a clear answer to the question whether the discord over US sanctions against the North, which according to Pyongyang must be lifted before any progress in the nuclear talks, has made it more difficult the holding of meetings.
"Timing, timing," said Palladino. "It's all about timing, it's about planning. And I'll leave it there.
Seoul has been working hard to revive nuclear diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang, which has helped dispel fears of war among South Koreans as a result of a provocative campaign of military trials. Weapons carried by North Korea and threats of Trump military action last year.
Kim turned to diplomacy in 2018, meeting Trump in June between three summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. But the North has been playing hard from the heights, fueling doubts about Kim's ability to tackle a nuclear program that he sees as his greatest guarantee of survival. Last week, the North Korean Foreign Ministry criticized the United States for its continued support for sanctions and hinted that it could resume nuclear development if the measures are not lifted.
Trump has shown signs of slowing the pace of his diplomacy with North Korea, appearing to be moving closer to his party's mainstream on North Korean issues. Trump recently said he would not play with the North at the expense of a denuclearization contract.
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