In a lengthy statement issued on July 7, shortly after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's two-day, the communist regime accused the United States of making unilateral "gangster-like demands" and called Washington's stance "regrettable".
While Pompeo offered a relatively positive assessment of his meetings, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the U.S. betrayed the spirit of last month's summit between President Donald Trump and Kim by making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands on "CVID", or the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea.
Pompeo, who was in Tokyo to brief his Japanese and South Korean counterparts on the talks, brushed aside the characterisation, saying discussions were continuing in "good faith".
The peace process between the United States and North Korea was in crisis Sunday after Pyongyang angrily rejected Washington's "gangster-like" demand for rapid nuclear disarmament, despite two days of intense talks.
Pompeo said he had won commitments for new discussions on denuclearization and announced a Thursday meeting between USA and North Korean military officials on the repatriation of the remains.
Mr Pompeo said there was still a lot of work to do, but he was confident the North Korean leader would stick to a commitment to abandon nuclear weapons he made during a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore last month.
South Korean policemen participate in an anti-terror and anti-chemical terror exercise as part of the 2016 Ulchi Freedom Guardian at Yeoui subway station, August 23, 2016 in Seoul, South Korea. "China, on the other hand, may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade-Hope Not!" During the trilateral meeting in Tokyo, Kono thanked Pompeo for that, a senior Foreign Ministry official said later on Sunday.
Pompeo said he did not meet Kim on his latest visit to Pyongyang, as he had twice before, and he had not anticipated doing so.
"The US still believes North Korea will denuclearize substantially before we give them any major rewards, while North Korea believes that the two need to move together jointly, and both make concessions".
Practically, assuaging Kim's security fears could require risky choices for the United States and its North Asian allies, such as rolling back America's nuclear umbrella or pulling back its troops in South Korea.
The South Korean minister also said complete denuclearization is a clearly set goal. But following the stinging commentary from the North, he allowed that the goal of denuclearization would be hard and that much work remains.
And over the weekend, ABC News reported on tensions at the talks, suggesting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Pompeo appeared to have rubbed each other up the wrong way.
In practical terms, Pompeo mentioned only that officials from both sides would meet on July 12 as a working group to discuss the repatriation of the remains of some U.S. soldiers killed during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Pompeo had no meeting with the North's leader unlike his previous two visits there.
Pompeo sought to dispel suggestions that the Trump administration has backed down from demanding the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of the North's nuclear weapons. Pompeo spoke with Trump, Bolton and White House chief of staff John Kelly on Saturday before his second round of meetings with Kim Yong Chol.
"Now that he sees the country is a nuclear state, Kim Jong Un is fully committed to pump up the economy", Kim said in the interview on June 29.
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