Mike Pompeo was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state on Thursday, as President Donald Trump prepares for a planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by early June in an effort to achieve the permanent denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Trump issued congratulations to Pompeo, saying, "Having a patriot of Mike's immense talent, energy, and intellect leading the Department of State will be an incredible asset for our country at this critical time in history."

Earlier Thursday, the Senate voted 57-42 to confirm Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency and considered a hawk on North Korea and Iran.

Soon after his swearing-in, Pompeo embarked on his first official foreign travel, heading to Brussels for a North Atlantic Treaty Organization foreign ministerial meeting. From there, he will visit Riyadh, Jerusalem, and Amman for talks on bilateral and Middle Eastern issues.

Trump said the new top U.S. diplomat has his "trust" and "support."

(Mike Pompeo UPI/Kyodo) 

"He will always put the interests of America first," Trump said in a statement.

Pompeo has led preparations for what will be the first U.S.-North Korea summit, and met with Kim recently during a secret trip to Pyongyang.

Hours after Pompeo's swearing-in, the White House released photos of Pompeo and Kim shaking hands during their meeting in the previously confirmed Easter weekend trip over March 31 and April 1.

"Great to have Secretary Pompeo confirmed," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said as she put the photos on her Twitter account.

"He will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," she wrote, in reference to the acronym for President of the United States.

In his confirmation hearing on April 12, then-the CIA chief pledged not to repeat past mistakes regarding North Korea, suggesting Washington will maintain maximum pressure and sanctions until Pyongyang denuclearizes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.

"Before we provide rewards, we get the outcome permanently, irreversibly," Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The remarks were in line with Trump's assertion that previous administrations gave North Korea too many concessions despite the country not abandoning its nuclear weapon ambitions.

Pompeo also said he is not advocating regime change in Pyongyang.

In March, Trump dismissed then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson due to rifts over a host of issues, including the Iran nuclear accord and an approach toward North Korea, and nominated Pompeo to replace him.

A former officer in the U.S. Army, Pompeo served as a Republican congressman from Kansas before taking the helm of the CIA.