North Korean negotiators continue to hold discussions with U.S. counterparts despite sitting out this week’s ASEAN regional forum in Bangkok, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told an event Friday morning.

Asked when his patience would run out on North Korea amid recent missile tests and stalled working-level talks, Pompeo insisted that observers “should never doubt what we may be communicating to the North Koreans.”

“There are conversations going on… even as we speak,” he added in his discussion on stage with Bloomberg TV, following an address on Washington’s economic engagement in the region.

Appearing to confirm that his DPRK