Seoul regrets delay in Pompeo trip, agrees on joint efforts

South Korea on Saturday called the US decision to call off a trip to North Korea by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unfortunate and said that continued diplomacy was most crucial in resolving the nuclear standoff with Pyongyang.

The statement by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul came hours after US President Donald Trump directed Pompeo to delay his trip because of what he saw as a lack of progress on nuclear disarmament talks with the North. Trump also said the nuclear negotiations with North Korea have been hampered by the lack of support from China, the North's only major ally that's engaged in an intensifying trade dispute with the United States.