Japanese, S. Korean Ministers Agree With Pompeo On Need To Press Pyongyang - State Dept.

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2018) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his counterparts from Japan and South Korea in separate phone conversations agreed to continue the pressure campaign on North Korea, the State Department said in two press releases on Monday.

"On August 24... Pompeo spoke with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha of the Republic of Korea to discuss next steps on DPRK [North Korea] engagement," one of the releases said. "The two pledged to maintain close coordination and agreed that pressure must continue until the DPRK [North Korea] denuclearizes."

The US top diplomat and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in a separate call on the same day also agreed that pressure on North Korea must continue to be applied until North Korea fully abandons its nuclear weapons program, according to another release.

Pompeo planned to visit North Korea this week but the trip was canceled by US President Donald Trump on Friday citing lack of progress towards denuclearization.

Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met in June despite the tense relations between the two leaders and agreed to work toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.