Anchor: Ahead of the planned U.S.-North Korea summit, the U.S. has pledged its commitment to North Korea’s denuclearization and also expressed its concern over human rights violations in the North. Analysts believe the U.S. could use the human rights issue, along with sanctions, as leverage to achieve its goal of achieving the denuclearization of the North. 
Our Laurence Taylor has the details. 

Report: New U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has vowed to push for North Korea's denuclearization "without delay," saying that a bad North Korean nuclear deal is not an option.

Pompeo made the vow on Wednesday at his official swearing-in ceremony in Washington ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 

Pompeo said that the U.S. administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past and its eyes are wide open, adding that it’s time to solve the North Korean nuclear issue once and for all.

[Sound bite: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (English)]
“A bad deal is not an option. The American people are counting on us to get this right. We are committed to the permanent, verifiable, irreversible dismantling of North Korea's weapons of mass destruction program and to do so without delay."

Pompeo also described the current diplomatic engagement with North Korea as “an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of history on the Korean Peninsula.” 

Meanwhile, the U.S. says it remains gravely concerned and deeply troubled by the human rights violations faced by North Koreans in virtually every aspect of their lives. 

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert released the statement on Wednesday to mark North Korea Freedom Week, an annual event to raise awareness about the North Korean regime's human rights abuses.

She said millions of North Koreans continue to suffer under one of the most repressive and abusive governments in the world, and that the U.S. will continue its efforts to increase the flow of independent information in and out of the North.
Laurence Taylor, KBS World Radio News.

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