President Trump directed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel his upcoming trip to North Korea Friday, citing stalled progress with denuclearization and the current U.S. trading relationship with China.
...Additionally, because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)...
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018
...Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved. In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 24, 2018
Secretary Pompeo retweeted President Trump to his page, verifying he's received the message.
Just yesterday Pompeo announced Steve Biegun as a Special Representative to the rogue regime.
Excited to announce that Steve Biegun is joining our team as the Special Representative for #NorthKorea. He'll lead our efforts to achieve @POTUS' goal of final, fully-verified denuclearization of DPRK, as agreed to by Chairman Kim. pic.twitter.com/rUNCsiyscU
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 23, 2018
Ten days ago, Pompeo said the U.S. and North Korea were still in close cooridanation and talks to denuclearize the peninsula.
I spoke with Foreign Minister Kang about the Inter-Korean talks held on Monday. The U.S. and the #ROK remain in close cooperation to ensure the final, fully verified denuclearization of the #DPRK. We believe progress can be made.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) August 14, 2018