Pompeo in Pyongyang, seeks clarity on nuke deal
PYONGYANG (AP) — United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for nearly three hours on Friday with a top North Korean official here to nail down specifics of commitments on denuclearization made at US President Donald Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month.
Pompeo has the crucial task of dispelling growing skepticism over how serious Kim is about giving up his nuclear arsenal and translating the upbeat rhetoric following the June 12 summit into concrete action.
It is Pompeo’s third trip to the North Korean capital in as many months, and his first since the summit. At the top of his meeting with Kim Yong-chol, a senior ruling party official and close aide to Kim, Pompeo quipped about his frequent visits.
“I was joking that if I come one more time, I will have to pay taxes here,” the top US diplomat said.
Kim, who has been something of a point man on Washington negotiations for Kim Jong-un, said: “The more you come, the more trust we can build between one another.”
Their talks, held at a state guesthouse complex located a short drive from the gargantuan mausoleum where North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung and his successor Kim Jong-il lie in state, lasted two hours and 45 minutes.
Pompeo was expected to hold further meetings yesterday. It was not clear whether any progress was made in Friday’s discussions and whether Pompeo would be meeting directly with Kim Jong-un, as he had done in his previous visits.
On the flight to Pyongyang, Pompeo said both sides made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearization of North Korea and on what a transformed relationship between their two countries might look like.
“On this trip, I’m seeking to fill in some details on these commitments and continue the momentum toward implementation of what the two leaders promised each other and the world. I expect that the DPRK is ready to do the same,” Pompeo said, using the initials for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.