Trump cancels Pompeo trip to NKorea – no progress on denuclearization
“I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” US President Donald Trump tweeted on Friday. “Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved.” Trump cited insufficient Chinese and Russian cooperation for maintaining sanctions on Pyongyang. DEBKAfile: The Pompeo trip was called off because Beijing and Moscow have resumed trade relations with and oil supplies to North Korea in breach of US sanctions. Friction is sharpening between Washington and Moscow – both over US sanctions against Russia and their differences over Syria, whereas US tariffs have sparked a trade war with Beijing. Trump has thus lost two key levers for forcing Kim Jong-un to disarm his nuclear and missile programs.