RX 762 - Trump/Singapore/NK Summit/Pool Path 2
US, N. Korea working to return remains
01:56 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has rebutted accusations that discussions over denculearization with North Korea are not going as expected.

“No one’s been closer to that than I have,” he told Fox News Thursday. “Everyone else is simply speculating. I’ve been there.”

He added that the North Koreans “have consistently reaffirmed their commitment” to the deal agreed by President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic summit in Singapore earlier this year.

“No one was in any confusion that this was going to happen in hours or days,” he said, adding that discussions are continuing and the country has a “bright future.”

Earlier this week, Pompeo said while progress has been made “on some issues” there is still “a lot of work to do.”

“It may take some time to get where we need to go, but all of this will be taking place against the backdrop of continued enforcement of the existing sanctions,” he added.

“The North Koreans reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearize. We’re making progress along the border to get the return of remains, a very important issue for those families. We think in the next couple of weeks we’ll have the first remains returned. That’s the commitment. So progress certainly being made there.”

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and President Donald Trump this week reiterated claims that negotiations with North Korea are progressing as planned.

The remains of several hundred US soldiers killed during the Korean War are expected to be handed over at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea next week.

While this was part of the deal agreed by Trump and Kim in Singapore, progress on other issues has been less evident.

The discussions resulted in a signed joint statement that committed both sides to establishing new relations and a path to peace on the Korean Peninsula. But critics said it only reiterated previous commitments and failed to lay out a timeline for denuclearization.

While Trump asserted that North Korea was “no longer a nuclear threat” upon his return from Singapore, North Korea has not publicly confirmed that it has dismantled any of its nuclear weapons or ballistic missile infrastructure since the June 12 meeting.

Some reports have even suggested that Pyongyang is pushing ahead with construction at sites affiliated with its nuclear and missile programs, based on satellite images. But some of those report’s authors have cautioned against reading too much into the various analysis.

On Tuesday, Trump said there was “no time limit” on North Korean denculearization.

“Discussions are ongoing and they’re going very, very well. We have no rush for speed … We have no time limit. We have no speed limit. We have – we’re just going through the process. But the relationships are very good,” he said.

Pompeo heads to New York Friday to brief members of the UN Security Council and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on the ongoing talks with Pyongyang.