Pompeo was scheduled to make his fourth visit to North Korea next week to follow up on a framework agreement Trump reached with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The decision marks a rare admission from Trump that North Korea's denuclearization is not going as well as hoped.

Trump blamed China, saying that "because of our much tougher Trading stance with China, I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were (despite the UN Sanctions which are in place)." This is in line with  Trump's complaint from early July in which he said that with respect to the denuclearization process, China "may be exerting negative pressure on a deal because of our posture on Chinese Trade."

Trump also said that "Secretary Pompeo looks forward to going to North Korea in the near future, most likely after our Trading relationship with China is resolved" which however in light of the collapse of this week's trade talks, may take a while.