Trump tells Pompeo to cancel North Korea visit

President Donald Trump on Friday asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to cancel an upcoming trip to North Korea, arguing that the United States has not made “sufficient progress” on nuclear talks with the country and partly blaming China for the difficulties.

“I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were,” he wrote, saying that Beijing was acting out because of “our much tougher Trading stance with China.”

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It was the latest out-of-left-field move by Trump when it comes to North Korea, an isolated Asian country whose nuclear arsenal is considered one of America’s top national security threats. And once again, it is difficult to say how the North Koreans, or the Chinese, will react to what appears to be a Trump pressure tactic.

Pompeo said Thursday that he would visit North Korea next week, taking along Stephen Biegun, the new U.S. envoy for the nuclear talks. Pompeo didn’t issue a response to Trump on Friday, but he retweeted the president’s statements, indicating he would follow the orders.

“I have asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo not to go to North Korea, at this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Trump wrote Friday in a series of tweets.

As is often the case with the unpredictable commander in chief, however, Trump left open the possibility he could change his mind — hinting that he hoped for a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved,” Trump wrote. “In the meantime I would like to send my warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim. I look forward to seeing him soon!”

Friday is not the first time Trump has unexpectedly upended U.S. diplomatic overtures to North Korea.

In the run-up to his historic June summit with Kim, Trump called off the get-together only to reschedule it days later. He also used Twitter last year to tell his previous secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, not to bother to pursue diplomacy with Pyongyang.

The U.S. and North Korea have been negotiating for months over a deal for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic and security concessions.

The negotiations followed the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Pyongyang that was built largely around sanctions.

Trump surprised the world when he agreed to Kim’s invitation to meet in person and jump-start nuclear talks. When the pair met, Kim agreed to a statement promising “complete denuclearization” of the peninsula.

The statement, however, was vague, and not nearly as comprehensive as past agreements between the U.S. and North Korea that have fallen apart. In the months since, the two sides have struggled to flesh out a proper deal, and North Korea is believed to be continuing its nuclear program.