SINGAPORE: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged on Saturday (Aug 4) to provide nearly US$300 million in new security funding for Southeast Asia.
Pompeo unveiled the figure to reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of foreign ministers from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and other officials from around the world in Singapore.
AdvertisementThe United States said earlier this week it will invest US$113 million in technology, energy and infrastructure initiatives in emerging Asia which he called "a downpayment on a new era of US economic commitment to the region".
Pompeo also called for pressure to be maintained on North Korea as concerns mount that Pyongyang is making slow progress towards denuclearisation.
In Singapore ahead of a major security forum, Pompeo called for "maintaining diplomatic and economic pressure" against Pyongyang.
His North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong Ho, is also in the city-state for the ASEAN Regional Forum, which takes place later in the day. But Pompeo said he was yet to meet with him on the sidelines of the gathering.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAt a landmark summit with President Donald Trump in June, the North's leader Kim Jong Un signed up to a vague commitment to "denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula".
While there have been small signs of progress since the summit, news reports indicate Pyongyang is continuing to build rockets and there have been concerns that some member states are relaxing the enforcement of United Nations sanctions on the North.
Let's block ads! (Why?)
More...