WASHINGTON, Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo downplayed North Korea’s latest missile launches, saying they won’t alter the prospects for negotiations on Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons.
One day after North Korea called a new round of short-range missiles a “warning” against joint US-South Korea military exercises, Pompeo on Wednesday told reporters that it didn’t impact Washington’s approach to the region.
The latest launches were the fourth pair of projectiles fired in less than two weeks by the North. They came after the South Korean and US militaries began mainly computer-simulated joint exercises on Monday to test Seoul’s ability to take operational control in wartime.
Asked if the missile launches dampened the environment for negotiations on denuclearisation, Pompeo replied “No.”
“President Donald Trump’s administration strategy with respect to North Korea hasn’t changed,” he said.
“Our effort is to achieve the full, final denuclearisation of North Korea. We are hopeful that in the coming weeks we will get back to negotiating table to achieve that.”
Pompeo noted that the recent launches by North Korea did not involve the medium and long-range ballistic missiles that had raised alarms in 2017 and 2018, and that Pyongyang has stopped testing nuclear weapons since September 2017.
Meanwhile, the US government has approved the sale of $800 million worth of helicopters to South Korea, the Pentagon announced, hours after Trump said Seoul had agreed to pay more for the US military presence in the country.
The Pentagon’s Defence Security Cooperation Agency said the State Department had approved the sale of 12 MH-60R Multi-Mission Seahawk Helicopters and extensive associated radar, communications and weaponry equipment.
The helicopters bolster anti-surface and anti-submarine missions, and handle secondary missions like replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay, the agency said.
“The Republic of Korea will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense,” it said.
The Seahawk is made by the Sikorsky division of US defence manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
The sale was approved after Trump tweeted on Wednesday that the two countries had entered negotiations on South Korea paying for the defence umbrella the United States provides the country.
“Over the past many decades, the US has been paid very little by South Korea,” Trump wrote.
“South Korea is a very wealthy nation that now feels an obligation to contribute to the military defence provided by the United States of America. The relationship between the two countries is a very good one!”
The two countries have been in a security alliance since the 1950-53 Korean war, which ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty – with more than 28,000 US troops stationed in the South to guard against threats from North Korea. — NNN-AGENCIES