Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday told reporters that North Korea delayed further talks regarding its denuclearization “because they weren’t ready.”
Speaking before and after a closed-door U.N. Security Council session on sanctions against Pyongyang, Haley called on the rogue nation to abide by an agreement made between President Trump and Kim Jong Un during a June summit in Singapore.
{mosads}“There’s no time to stall or no time to delay or try and get past not going through with what was agreed in Singapore,” Haley said, according to Reuters.
Trump and Kim agreed to work toward North Korea’s denuclearization during the June summit, but little tangible progress has been made. While North Korea hasn’t tested any missiles or nuclear devices and returned three U.S. hostages and what the White House says are the remains of fallen U.S. servicemembers from the Korean War, Pyongyang has produced no evidence of reducing its nuclear stockpile.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had been scheduled to meet with North Korean officials in New York Thursday, but the State Department announced Wednesday those talks would be postponed, saying the talks would resume “when our respective schedules permit.”
Trump has expressed optimism that he can solve the nuclear quagmire that has plagued several previous administrations, tweeting in September, “Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!”
North Korea was featured prominently in what Trump listed as his many successes while on a campaign blitz ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections, often saying critics expected him to solve a decades-long conflict in a matter of months since the Singapore summit.