US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday he will meet this week in New York with North Korea's number two, Kim Yong Chol, to resume denuclearization talks.
Announcing the meeting on Fox News Sunday, Pompeo said it would be "a good opportunity to continue the denuclearization discussions" underway since US President Donald Trump's historic summit in June with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Pompeo's announcement follows a North Korean foreign ministry statement that the North will "seriously" consider reviving its nuclear weapons program unless US sanctions are lifted.
But Pompeo dismissed the warning, saying, "I'm not worried about that."
He added there would be "no economic relief until we have achieved our ultimate objective."
But little progress has been made since then, with Washington pushing to maintain sanctions against the North until its "final, fully verified denuclearization," and Pyongyang condemning US demands as "gangster-like."