*WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Friday pulled the plug on histop diplomat’s upcoming trip to North Korea — and took a swipe at Chinaover stalled efforts to disarm Kim Jong Un’s regime.*
“I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, atthis time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress withrespect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Trump said onTwitter.
Pompeo was due to return to Pyongyang next week for what he described asthe next stage in ensuring the “final, fully verified denuclearization ofNorth Korea.”
But Trump — facing a slew of domestic problems and independent reports thatNorth Korea has done little or nothing to roll back its nuclear program —vetoed the plan.
Pompeo and Trump met earlier Friday, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanderssaid.
Trump also stepped up his rhetoric against China, which has grown harsheras November congressional elections approach, with the world’s top twoeconomies now embroiled in an escalating trade war.
“Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I donot believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as theyonce were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place),” Trump said.
In another tweet, the president added Pompeo would still head to NorthKorea “in the near future,” saying this would likely occur when theUS-China trading relationship is “resolved.”
“In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect toChairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!” Trump said.
*‘Largely solved’*
The trip would have been Pompeo’s fourth to North Korea, and the secondsince a historic summit on June 12 between Trump and Kim.
Trump, who relishes unpredictability in negotiating, had at one pointcanceled that summit, citing North Korea’s “open hostility.”
But he soon backtracked and the summit went ahead in Singapore.
Trump had previously claimed that he had “largely solved” the North Koreanuclear problem.
Despite that bold claim, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agencyrecently reported it had not seen any indication that nuclear activities inNorth Korea have stopped.
“The continuation and further development of the DPRK’s nuclear program andrelated statements by the DPRK are a cause for grave concern,” said areport by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), referring to NorthKorea’s official name.
North Korea is believed to be close to developing a miniaturized nucleardevice and the ballistic missile capabilities to carry it anywhere in thecontinental United States.
Evans Revere, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said it is timefor a radical shift in the US approach.
“The Trump administration needs a ‘plan B’ to deal with the probabilitythat Pyongyang is doing what it has done with every previous USadministration: exploiting diplomacy and negotiations to buy time,” Reveresaid in a recent report.
Earlier this week, Pompeo named a Ford Motor Co. executive as special envoyfor North Korea to try to get disarmament back on track.
Stephen Biegun, 55, who is retiring as Ford’s vice president forinternational governmental affairs, had been considered for the post ofTrump’s national security advisor before it went to John Bolton. – APP/AFP