North Korea to get relief only after verifiable denuclearization: Mattis

U.S. Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said on Sunday that North Korea will receive relief only after it shows “verifiable and irreversible” steps toward denuclearization, adding that it would be a bumpy road to a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12.

“We can anticipate, at best, a bumpy road to the (negotiations),” Mattis said before the start of a meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of Shangri-la dialogue in Singapore.

“We will continue to implement all U.N Security Council resolutions on North Korea. North Korea will receive relief only when it demonstrates verifiable and irreversible steps to denuclearisation,” Mattis added.