CIA Works ‘Extremely Hard’ to Support US Efforts to Denuclearize North Korea

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is putting a tremendous effort to support the US administration in the attempts to denuclearize North Korea, CIA Director Gina Haspel said in a speech on Monday.

"CIA is working extremely hard to support the Administration and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo as they trying to figure out a roadmap to make that happen," Haspel told an audience at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.

Haspel said North Korea considers its nuclear weapons program as significant leverage in negotiations with others and will not give it up easily.

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However, Haspel also pointed out that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "understands that he needs to take steps to improve the economy."

In June, US President Donald Trump and Kim held a summit in Singapore during which the North Korean leader expressed his country’s commitment to stop its nuclear weapons program, while the United States pledged to provide security guarantees and freeze joint military exercises with South Korea.