Donald Trump
Citing "lack of progress" on peninsula denuclearisation, US President Donald Trump on Friday asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to North Korea.
Shooting off a series of tweets, Trump said: "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."
He added that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future."
"In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!," Trump said.
Earlier on Thursday, Pompeo said that he has appointed Stephen Biegun as the new special envoy for North Korea.
He also said that he and Biegun will travel to Pyongyang next week "to make further diplomatic progress towards our objective."
Pompeo has visited North Korea three times, respectively in April, May and July.
Trump on August 20 said he would "most likely" meet with Kim for a second time, and he believed Pyongyang had taken specific steps toward denuclearization.
In the joint statement after the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore, Trump committed to provide security guarantees to North Korea, while Kim reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
(With IANS inputs)
