Pompeo’s remarks on N Korea make talks difficult: Pyongyang

SEOUL: North Korea says recent “thoughtless” remarks made by US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, about Pyongyang’s behavior will make resumption of talks with Washington even more difficult.North Korea on Saturday lashed out at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over his comments on Pyongyang’s "rogue behaviour" and warned its expectations for nuclear talks with Washington are "gradually disappearing".

Pyongyang’s angry words come as working-level talks with Washington remain gridlocked, despite an agreement in June between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump to kickstart the process.

Instead no progress has been made in recent weeks, as the reclusive state launched a series of weapons tests in protest at joint military exercises between the US and South Korea. "Our expectations of dialogue with the US are gradually disappearing and we are being pushed to re-examine all the measures we have taken so far," said Choe Son Hui, the North’s vice foreign minister, in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Choe took aim at remarks made earlier this week by Pompeo who described North Korea’s actions as "rogue behaviour" that could not be ignored. Such language was improper, irritating and insulting, Choe said, warning that the US should not to put "our patience to the test if it doesn’t want to have bitter regrets afterwards".

The North’s blistering criticism of the top US diplomat comes a week after it called him a "diehard toxin" and said it was "sceptical" about whether it can negotiate with him. Kim and Trump adopted a vague-worded statement on the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula" at their first encounter in Singapore in June last year but little progress has since been made on discarding the North’s weapons programmes.The North has previously suggested that Pompeo should be replaced with a "more mature" person.

Talks between the two sides have stalled since the second summit between US President, Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un in Vietnam broke up without an agreement or even a joint statement.

Trump walked away from the summit, claiming that Kim had insisted on the removal of all sanctions on North Korea. Pyongyang, however, rejected that account, stressing that it had only asked for a partial lifting of the bans.

Following the failure of the summit, the North repeatedly warned that it was considering ending talks on denuclearisation and resuming its nuclear and missile tests over what it described as “the gangster-like stand” of the US.

In their third, brief meeting at the Korean border at the end of June, Kim and Trump agreed to kick-start working-level talks. Washington has so far refused to offer any sanctions relief in return for several unilateral steps already taken by North Korea. Pyongyang has also demolished at least one nuclear test site and agreed to allow international inspectors into a missile engine test facility.

The US now demands that North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons entirely before the sanctions are lifted; Pyongyang insists on a step-by-step approach that would include verifiable American commitment to end its massive military presence near North Korean territorial waters.