Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States has virtually no way to persuade Kim Jong-un, North Korea's state affairs commission Chairperson, to give up nuclear weapons. Pompeo served as secretary during the first Trump administration and handled U.S.-North Korea negotiations.
On the 17th (local time), former Minister Pompeo said at a forum hosted by the law firm DR&AJU that "there is no carrot to persuade the Chairperson to give up nuclear weapons," and "the number of sticks we can use is very small, and most have already been used."
Former Minister Pompeo, referring to his experience negotiating directly with Chairperson Kim in Pyongyang, said, "The counterpart we are actually negotiating with is Xi Jinping," adding, "Ultimately, this is an issue to resolve with China, not North Korea." He said this is because Chairperson Kim does not have the freedom to decide the nuclear issue alone and relies heavily on President Xi Jinping.
Regarding Chairperson Kim, former Minister Pompeo said, "He is evil. He believes the entire Korean Peninsula is his," and argued, "Chairperson Kim seeks to occupy the Korean Peninsula, and China wants that outcome as well."
He positively evaluated President Trump's "approval" of South Korea's construction of nuclear-powered submarines. Former Minister Pompeo emphasized, "Kim Jong-un, the Chairperson, has nuclear capabilities. So to counter that, we must ensure the South Korean people have sufficient defensive power."
Earlier, former Minister Pompeo visited Pyongyang in March 2018 as Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director-General during the first Trump administration. Later that June, President Trump held a summit with Chairperson Kim in Singapore, where Kim demanded direct communication between the United States and North Korea, the cancellation of South Korea-U.S. military exercises, and the lifting of sanctions on North Korea.