America's top diplomat Mike Pompeo says he would like to leave "a little room" in the sanctions regime against North Korea,... in case Pyeongyang makes "substantial progress" in its denuclearization.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Testifying to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday,... U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was asked whether he agrees that no sanctions should be lifted until North Korea demonstrates a commitment to complete and verifiable denuclearization.
Showing some flexibility in the administration's position for the first time,... Pompeo said he would like to leave (quote) "a little room" in the sanctions regime against North Korea,... especially if the regime makes "substantial progress" in its denuclearization.
The Trump administration has always insisted on keeping sanctions on the North,... until denuclearization is achieved.
However,... Pompeo reaffirmed Washington's stance,... saying the enforcement regime, the core UN Security Council resolutions need to remain in place until the verification of denuclearization has been completed.
Pompeo faced some criticism over the effectiveness of Washington's sanctions regime from Senator Ed Markey,... who noted how North Korea has been able to elude sanctions via illicit ship-to-ship transactions.
Pompeo disputed the senator's remarks,... saying that times are tougher now in North Korea than they had been during the Obama administration due to the tight sanctions.
He admitted ship-to-ship transactions have been on the rise,... adding there's still work to do on sanctions enforcement.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.