Amid smiles and diplomatic niceties, U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo and his north Korea counterpart exchanged barbs and accusations Saturday in Singapore, with Washington warning that no sanctions would be lifted until North Korea fully denuclearizes and Pyongyang countering that it would not be bullied. North Korea is ready to keep up strategic contacts with China and jointly protect stability and development on the Korean peninsula and in the region," Ri Yong Ho said on the sidelines of the ASEAN regional forum, which brought together ten Southeast Asia group member states and foreign ministers from other Asia-Pacific nations. Speaking on the sidelines of an Asian security forum in Singapore, Pompeo told reporters that the U.S. has new, credible reports that Russia is violating U.N. sanctions by allowing joint ventures with North Korean companies and issuing new permits for North Korean guest workers. Mike Pompeo said he had handed Donald Trump's letter for Kim Jong-un to North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho during their brief meeting on the sidelines of the Association of South East Asian Nations summit being held in the city-state on the Malay Peninsula. At the United Nations, a summary of a report by experts monitoring U.N. sanctions against North Korea was sent to the Security Council on Friday that said North Korea is continuing with both its nuclear and missile programs.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo states in an interview that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will ultimately set the timeline for denuclearization.