U.S. cites ‘real progress’ toward summit with Kim

The Trump administration pushed ahead with hopes for a summit soon with Kim Jong Un, the North Korean leader, after talks Thursday with envoys from Pyongyang and the announcement of an expected meeting Friday between the country’s top nuclear negotiator and President Donald Trump.

After discussions in New York, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is “confident we are moving in the right direction.”

Pompeo maintained the U.S. would continue to demand a fully verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But he acknowledged that significant challenges remained and predicted more “tough moments and difficult times” as the two sides negotiate.

Still, Pompeo cited “real progress” in rescheduling a summit meeting between Kim and Trump that was set for June 12 in Singapore, before the U.S. president canceled it last week.

It would be “nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste,” Pompeo told reporters after two hours of discussions with Kim Yong Chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief and top nuclear arms negotiator.

“If these talks are successful, they will truly be historic,” he said.

The diplomacy is expected to continue Friday in Washington, where Trump is planning to receive a letter from the North Korean leader, hand-delivered by his envoys.