North Korean officials failed to show up to a meeting with US counterparts yesterday, delivering the second blow within a week to the Trump administration’s efforts to make headway on denuclearisation talks.
North Korean officials had already publicly castigated Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state, at the weekend for making “unilateral” and “gangster-like” demands.
Officials from both sides had been due to meet in the demilitarised zone on the Korean peninsula yesterday to discuss the return of remains of US soldiers killed during the Korean war, a gesture of goodwill that would fulfil a promise from Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, to Donald Trump. Hopes of a breakthrough in relations were raised last month when the two leaders met in a historic summit in Singapore.