Pompeo: US to lift sanctions on DPRK if it meets demands

WASHINGTON - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Washington will agree to lift sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) if the country agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program, a move that would create economic prosperity that "will rival" the Republic of Korea(ROK).

Speaking on several Sunday morning talk shows, Pompeo said the United States would not be willing to invest taxpayer dollars to help the country, but was willing to "lift sanctions" to pave the way for private American investment in DPRK's energy, agriculture and infrastructure sectors.

Pompeo's comments come ahead of a planned June 12 meeting in Singapore between DPRK leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump, the first such meeting between a sitting US president and a DPRK leader.

"What Chairman Kim will get from America is our finest – our entrepreneurs, our risk takers, our capital providers...They will get private capital that comes in. North Korea is desperately in need of energy...for their people. They are in great need of agricultural equipment and technology," he said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"We can create conditions for real economic prosperity for the North Korean people that will rival that of the South," he added.

The state media of DPRK reported over the weekend that the country has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb site for later in May.

Reuters