(Bloomberg) -- North Korea criticized U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo's remark that Pyongyang was guilty of “rogue behavior,” saying hopes for talks with Washington are fading and the U.S. should not put its patience to the test any longer.
Choe Son Hui, North Korea's vice foreign minister, said Pompeo's remark made planned working-level talks between the two countries more difficult and North Korea is “being pushed to re-examine all the measures” it's taken so far, the official Korean Central News Agency cited Choe as saying in a statement.
Pompeo said on Aug. 27 in a speech to the national convention of the American Legion that “we recognized that North Korea's rogue behavior could not be ignored.”
Choe said in the statement that Pompeo's remark is “just improper language, for which the U.S. administration will surely regret.”
Separately, North Korean foreign minister Ri Yong Ho won't attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this September, NK News reported on Aug. 29, citing multiple informed sources. Ri's possible trip to New York had led to hopes for a meeting between him and Pompeo, the news agency reported.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kyungji Cho in Seoul at kcho54@bloomberg.net;Shinhye Kang in Seoul at skang24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley James, Ken McCallum
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