BEIJING (AP) — The United States will not ease sanctions against North Korea until it denuclearizes, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday, as he reassured key Asian allies that President Donald Trump had not backed down on Pyongyang's weapons program. Pompeo, meeting in Seoul with top South Korean and Japanese diplomats, put a more sober spin on Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after the president's comments fueled unease in Washington, Tokyo and Seoul. He said Trump's curious claim that the North's nuclear threat was over was issued with "eyes wide open," and brushed off a North Korean state media report suggesting Trump would grant concessions even before the North fully rids itself of nuclear weapons.
US: No sanctions relief before North Korea denuclearizes