Pompeo’s North Korea Meeting a Disaster: Report
WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- It began with great expectations, an eagerly-anticipated meeting with the North Korean leader, and a gift bag that included an Elton John CD.
It ended with a scuttled rendezvous, statements declaring disappointment and stalemate.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's overnight visit to Pyongyang last week failed to demonstrate any progress on denuclearization talks, leading one source with knowledge of the discussions to say the White House felt it went "as badly as it could have gone."
"The North Koreans were just messing around, not serious about moving forward," the source told CNN's Michelle Kosinski, adding that Pompeo had been promised a meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and so not getting that meeting sent a big message.
"By now it's abundantly clear that this approach is a dead end," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow and director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, where he covers U.S. nuclear strategy, deterrence and North Korea.
"The White House has essentially tried to shoot for the moon and total disarmament, and it's clear that North Korea is not only not willing to do that, but sees very little reason to take steps in that direction," he told CNN.
Pompeo himself sought to mitigate any frustration that North Korea has still not publicly declared what it will or will not do in regards to its own nuclear weapons program.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday as he arrived in Brussels to attend the NATO summit with President Donald Trump, Pompeo said the road ahead was long and that it was on the North Koreans for change to occur.
While Pompeo declared the two sides were making progress, North Korea labeled the Americans' attitude as "regrettable" and said it differed from the spirit that buoyed both leaders when they met in Singapore on June 12.
"We expected the U.S. to bring constructive measures to build confidence in accordance with the spirit of the U.S.-NK summit," said a statement from state-run news agency KCNA. "However, the attitude of the U.S. in the first high-level talks held on the 6th and 7th was indeed regrettable."
The comments showed "the gulf that does exist between the demands the United States and other nations are making and what North Korea is willing to do," said Australian Senator Penny Wong. She spoke to Australia's ABC radio from Washington, DC.
"That is why it is so important that we agree that ... it is so important to continue the economic pressure through the sanctions regime," she said.
It ended with a scuttled rendezvous, statements declaring disappointment and stalemate.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's overnight visit to Pyongyang last week failed to demonstrate any progress on denuclearization talks, leading one source with knowledge of the discussions to say the White House felt it went "as badly as it could have gone."
"The North Koreans were just messing around, not serious about moving forward," the source told CNN's Michelle Kosinski, adding that Pompeo had been promised a meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and so not getting that meeting sent a big message.
"By now it's abundantly clear that this approach is a dead end," said Adam Mount, a senior fellow and director of the Defense Posture Project at the Federation of American Scientists, where he covers U.S. nuclear strategy, deterrence and North Korea.
"The White House has essentially tried to shoot for the moon and total disarmament, and it's clear that North Korea is not only not willing to do that, but sees very little reason to take steps in that direction," he told CNN.
Pompeo himself sought to mitigate any frustration that North Korea has still not publicly declared what it will or will not do in regards to its own nuclear weapons program.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday as he arrived in Brussels to attend the NATO summit with President Donald Trump, Pompeo said the road ahead was long and that it was on the North Koreans for change to occur.
While Pompeo declared the two sides were making progress, North Korea labeled the Americans' attitude as "regrettable" and said it differed from the spirit that buoyed both leaders when they met in Singapore on June 12.
"We expected the U.S. to bring constructive measures to build confidence in accordance with the spirit of the U.S.-NK summit," said a statement from state-run news agency KCNA. "However, the attitude of the U.S. in the first high-level talks held on the 6th and 7th was indeed regrettable."
The comments showed "the gulf that does exist between the demands the United States and other nations are making and what North Korea is willing to do," said Australian Senator Penny Wong. She spoke to Australia's ABC radio from Washington, DC.
"That is why it is so important that we agree that ... it is so important to continue the economic pressure through the sanctions regime," she said.