World

Trump Kim summit: US wants 'major N Korea disarmament' by 2020

June 13, 2018 4:04 pm

The US hopes to see “major disarmament” by North Korea by the end of 2020, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says.

His comments come a day after an unprecedented meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore.

In a statement North Korea agreed to work towards “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula”.

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But the document has been criticised for lacking details on when or how Pyongyang would give up its weapons.

Speaking in South Korea, where he discussed the outcome of the summit, Secretary Pompeo said there was still “a great deal of work to do” with North Korea.

But he added: “Major disarmament… We’re hopeful that we can achieve that in the two and half years.”

He said he was confident Pyongyang understood the need for verification that it was dismantling its nuclear programme.

When asked by reporters why this was not specified in the document signed in Singapore, he condemned their questions as “insulting” and “ridiculous”.