IRNA - The US withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement (JCPOA) with Iran could have played a role in collapsing US-North Korea talks, a former senior US State Department official says.


Thomas Countryman, former US Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation told IRNA in a phone interview that Donald Trump�s Administration withdrew the US from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as well as the Paris Climate Change Agreement or a treaty on short and medium-ranged missiles with Russia.

'Washington could get back to it (JCPOA) in the future.... I think it failed because it wasn�t as well-prepared as it should�ve. But, it was more prepared than the Singapore Summit ... It is difficult to think that North Koreans would believe a commitment from this president,� Countryman said.

Countryman said he wasn�t �surprised� about the �disappointing� result of the Trump-Kim Jong un�s summit in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.

He noted that negotiations �closed on the very issues that divide both sides,� referring to Trump�s desire to destroy South Korea�s nuclear program as well as Pyongyang�s thirst for a �lifting of all sanctions�.

�I think they should've talked about those important sanctions that have created pressure for the economy and which are what probably brought North Korea to the negotiating table,� he stressed.

The US official doubted that Pyongyang would �resume testing in the near future� because �they want to keep this relationship with the US healthy.�

�I would worry that if they do, there would be a risk of military conflict,� he warned.