US secretary of state: US will help make North Korea rich

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday that if North Korea agrees to surrender its nuclear arsenal, Washington will work with Pyongyang to rebuild its tiny economy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) with South Korea's foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. Pic/AFP

US secretary of state says America is ready to help N Korea get on an economic par with South if it gives up nukes. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said yesterday that if North Korea agrees to surrender its nuclear arsenal, Washington will work with Pyongyang to rebuild its tiny economy.

"If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearise, the US is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on par with our South Korean friends," he said.

Pompeo was speaking after talks with his South Korean opposite number Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to prepare for a historic June 12 summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some observers are concerned that South Korea's desire to build peaceful ties with the North may distance it over time from the US policy of seeking nuclear disarmament at any cost.

But, both Kang and Pompeo insisted that they agreed on the need for the "total, complete, permanent and verifiable" denuclearisation of the divided peninsula. And Pompeo said the US would remain on board to help develop the North’s economy, which has been devastated by its own mismanagement and crippling international sanctions. Pompeo has had two recent meetings with Kim to prepare for the summit and, last weekend, to negotiate the release of three Korean-Americans held in the North’s jails.

NK 'taking measures' to dismantle nuke site
Seoul: North Korea is "taking technical measures" to dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear test site and will invite foreign media to observe a ceremony to kick off the process, state news agency KCNA said yesterday.

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