WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th September, 2018) Representatives from the United States and North Korea will meet in Vienna as soon as possible for negotiations because of important commitments North Korea made during its summit this week with South Korea, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The United States is prepared to engage immediately in negotiations to transform US-DPRK relations," Pompeo said. "We have invited North Korean representatives to meet our Special Representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, in Vienna, Austria at the earliest opportunity."
Pompeo also said he invited his North Korean counterpart for a meeting while the two are in New York City next week for the United Nations General Assembly.
The meetings, he said, will mark the beginning of a process to denuclearize the country by January 2021, "as committed by" North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un.
The United States, Pompeo added, also welcomes the successful outcome of Kim's two-day summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang, where the North Korean leader agreed to allow international inspectors verify the nuclear dismantlement process.
During talks on Tuesday and Wednesday with Moon, Kim agreed to allow international experts to monitor the closure of the Dongchang-ri missile engine testing and launch facility and permanent closure of the nuclear facilities in Yongbyon, as long as the United States carries out agreed-on corresponding actions. Kim and Moon also agreed to end large-scale artillery exercises and flights near the demilitarized zone.
Earlier this month, Kim told South Korean special envoys that he wanted to complete the denuclearization process by the end of US President Donald Trump's first term.
