Denuclearisation: NK-US tussle

Not surprisingly, Pyongyang is not in the least amused by the US insistence on quick denuclearisation. In fact, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dismissed North Korea's accusation of a "gangster-like mindset" in denuclearisation talks, saying that the two nations had "productive conversations" that will continue in the days ahead. Pompeo brushed aside the comments saying, "if those requests were gangster-like, the world is a gangster," and noting that the UN Security Council has been clear on what North Korea needs to achieve. From all indications, it is clear that the talks did not go as well as Washington had hoped for. While his talks with North Korean officials were conducted in good faith and they "reaffirmed their commitment to abandoning nuclear weapons" he said, the US sanctions against the nation will remain in place. According to him, they had detailed, substantive conversations about the next steps toward a fully verified and complete denuclearisation. On Sunday night, in Vietnam, Pompeo said Vietnam experienced an "incredible rise" in part due to a new engagement with the US. He then delivered a message to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un: "President Trump believes your country can replicate this path, it's yours if you'll seize the moment. The miracle can be yours." Pompeo added, "If they can do this, they'll be remembered and Chairman Kim will be remembered as a hero of the Korean people." Earlier, North Korea slammed what it called the US' "gangster-like mindset" during the talks, according to a report by the state media. The accusation came after Pompeo visited Pyongyang and declared that the talks were productive. "People are going to make stray comments after meetings," he said of North Korea's assertion. North Korea, on the other hand, came down hard on the "regrettable attitude" of the US that was not in the spirit of the June 12 summit in Singapore between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. "We expected the US to bring constructive measures to build confidence in accordance with the spirit of the US-NK Summit," the official statement said. "However, the attitude of the US in the first high-level talks held on the 6th and 7th were indeed regrettable." North Korea called the outcome of the discussion "worrisome" and argued that the "cancerous issues" the US delegation raised were the same ones that had "amplified" distrust and the risk of war with past administrations, resulting in previous talks ending in failure. But Pompeo gave assurances that North Korea was still committed to dismantling its nuclear programme despite satellite images that appear to show infrastructure improvements to a nuclear facility and the finalising of a ballistic missile manufacturing site.