Washington intends to continue its efforts to engage Pyongyang diplomatically, while keeping sanctions against it in place until full and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is currently on a visit to Seoul, said on Friday
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th August, 2019) Washington intends to continue its efforts to engage Pyongyang diplomatically, while keeping sanctions against it in place until full and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who is currently on a visit to Seoul, said on Friday.
The statement was made at the talks with South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo.
"As President [Donald] Trump has made clear, the U.S. is willing to engage diplomatically with North Korea to make progress on all commitments made in the Singapore joint statement to achieve those ends," Esper said, as quoted by the Yonhap news agency.
He, however, noted that the United States "will remain resolute in the enforcement of the U.N. Security Council resolutions until the North engages in the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Esper arrived in Seoul on Thursday for a two-day visit as part of his Asia Pacific tour. The visit comes amid repeated launches of what Seoul believed to be short-range missiles by Pyongyang, which have intensified over the past few weeks. North Korea has called the launches a warning against South Korean-US joint military drills, which began on Monday.
The denuclearization talks, initiated at the first-ever US-North Korean summit in Singapore, have, meanwhile, stalled after February's meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Back then, the US leader said that since North Korea was not willing to denuclearize the specific areas that Washington wanted, while seeking full sanctions removal, it was not appropriate to sign an agreement at that point.
