The United States is committed to achieving denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and creating conditions such that the North Korean regime no longer threatens the world, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said.
Pompeo made the comments after attending a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and the visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday.
"We are committed to achieving denuclearisation and creating conditions such that the North Korean regime no longer threatens the world," Pompeo told reporters
The State Department and the White House, he said, were continuing to prepare for the meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, so that in the event that the summit takes place on scheduled date, the administration is fully prepared.
Trump and Kim are scheduled to meet in Singapore on June 12. However, North Korea has threatened to cancel the meeting over a joint US-South Korea military exercise. The US has said it is going ahead with the preparation.
Pompeo said the mission statement had not changed at all.
"Will do what it takes to make sure that this is a successful meeting, whether that's meeting with the North Koreans in some third country or whatever it may take. We are prepared," Pompeo said in response to a question.
"The President will ask us to ensure that we've done all we can to make sure that we have the real opportunity to have this historic successful outcome," he said.
Exuding confidence that the meeting would indeed take place, Pompeo, who is the only US leader to have met Kim twice in the last one month, said the US was continuing to do its work and lay the foundation for a successful meeting.
"With respect to Chairman Kim, I haven't spoken publicly about the conversations we've had;they were between he and I," Pompeo said.
"But I do have a real sense that he would find American investment, American technology, American know-how of real value to his people, and it's something that he and I had a chance to speak about generally," he said.
Pompeo said if the the meeting takes place and North Korea promises denuclearisation, then America would be "quite capable of delivering them with lots of things that would make life better for the North Korean people".
Responding to a question, Pompeo said nothing has given them pause for the summit.
"Chairman Kim asked for this meeting.President Trump agreed to undertake it. We worked to find a date and location. We got those set. And since then, we're driving on," he said.
"It is clear we are working to make sure that there's a common understanding about the contents of what will be discussed, but I'm optimistic. But again, this could be something that comes right to the end and it doesn't happen. As the President said, we'll see," he said.
Pompeo said that the Chinese have offered historic assistance in the pressure campaign.
"President Trump has made clear and I've made clear too that it's incredibly central that that pressure remain in place and that China continue to participate in that pressure campaign.And we have every reason to expect that they will continue to do so," he said.
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