Pompeo presses on North Korea to fulfill its nuclear commitments

US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo held an intense day of negotiations with the government on Saturday in Pyongyang. right arm of the North Korean leader, with the aim of achieving the promised denuclearization plan.

Pompeo held these meetings, his second and final day in the country, in an elegant manor house for guests from Pyongyang where he could talk with Kim Yong Chol, advisor to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Then, the US envoy left the North Korean capital for Tokyo, where he had to inform his counterparts in Japan and South Korea about the results of these talks. It is expected to make statements to the press Sunday

The purpose of the meeting was to establish a detailed roadmap for the "complete denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, as agreed upon at the historic meeting in Singapore on June 12 US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.

"Our policy has not changed," Heather Nauert, spokesperson for the secretary, told reporters. State. "We expect exactly that President (Trump) and Kim Jong Un will agree in Singapore, that is to say the denuclearization of North Korea," he said. near the imposing mausoleum where are the bodies of the former leaders of North Korea Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il – grandfather and father of the current leader.

As the discussion began, Pompeo left the place to go to a place where he made an appeal to President Donald Trump under strict security measures, away from possible North Korean surveillance, before resuming talks around 09:00 (00:00 GMT) which lasted nearly six hours.

At the beginning of the meeting, Kim Yong Chol asked Mike Pompeo how he slept during his first night in the country. "We had a very serious discussion on very important issues yesterday," said the North Korean official. "Therefore, thinking about these discussions, maybe you did not sleep well last night."

Pompeo, on the other hand, said that he "slept very well", but this crossing implied that the pending discussions would be more difficult.

– "Jokes" and "courtesies" –

"We consider this to be very important because it is the first high-level meeting of the summit between our two leaders," added Pompeo. "The work we have done to complete denuclearization, establishing a relationship between our two countries, is vital to a brighter North Korea and the success that our two presidents demand from us," added the Secretary of State. .

Kim Yong Chol replied, "Of course, it's important, there are things I need to clarify."

"There are things I need to clarify," replied Pompeo

. Friday was the third visit to North Korea by the US official.

Pompeo began his diplomatic approach to North Korea while he was director of the CIA. Appointed secretary of state at the time, he remained the key negotiator after the process was made public.

On Friday, Kim Yong Chol greeted Pompeo on his arrival in Pyongyang and opened the dialogue.

"The more we meet, the deeper our friendship will be," he said. "The more times you come, the more we can build trust between us."

On Friday night, Mike Pompeo, accompanied by senior officials from the State Department and the CIA, spoke for nearly three hours with his North Korean hosts. According to US spokeswoman Heather Nauert, the two officials "joked" and exchanged gestures of "courtesy".

According to Nauert, they agreed to form working groups to agree on "practical details". to fulfill the promises made in Singapore at the 12 June summit.

Washington hopes the denuclearization process will be activated this year. But many experts and critics of President Trump believe that the promise of the North Korean leader at the summit is not credible and that the process, even if it begins, could take years.