Pompeo expects North Korea diplomacy to be 'bumpy'

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he expected "bumpy" talks ahead with North Korea but that he still hoped to reach a potentially landmark denuclearization deal.

US President Donald Trump in February cut short a summit in Hanoi with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with Pyongyang later blaming Pompeo for a pushing a hard line and calling for his exclusion from future negotiations.

In an interview with CBS News, Pompeo Wednesday said the Hanoi summit had more "nuance" than publicly reported, with the two sides sharing their positions.

"It's going to be bumpy. It's going to be challenging. I hope we get several more chances to have serious conversations about how we move this process forward," Pompeo said.

North Korea has demanded an easing of sanctions and Trump has indicated sympathy, saying he is fond of Kim.

But Pompeo has insisted on maintaining pressure until a comprehensive deal on ending North Korea's nuclear program.

Pompeo said that years of previous diplomatic efforts had made a mistake with North Korea by handing them "a bunch of money in exchange for too little."
"Only time will tell for sure, but I've seen enough to believe that there is a real opportunity to fundamentally shift the strategic paradigm on the peninsula there."