U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks with a senior North Korean official shortly after arriving Friday in Pyongyang in a bid to reach agreement on concrete steps to rid the country of nuclear weapons.

At the outset of the talks, Kim Yong Chol, a vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, welcomed Pompeo's third visit to the country, according to a U.S. pool report.

Pompeo plans to spend a day and a half in the North for meetings with leader Kim Jong Un and officials to work out specifics, such as a full declaration by Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as ways to verify measures for denuclearization.

His initial meeting with Kim Yong Chol, known as a close aide to leader Kim Jong Un, marks the first high-level talks between the two countries since the latter committed to the "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at his historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore.

Pompeo said in a Twitter post early Friday that he looks forward to "continuing our work toward the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea, as agreed at the summit.

Speaking on a CBS News program Sunday, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said he expects Pompeo to discuss with North Korea a plan to dismantle all of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs "in a year."

Following talks in Pyongyang, Pompeo will travel to Tokyo on Saturday for a trilateral meeting the following day with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha over coordinated action toward North Korea.

Pompeo's visit to the North comes amid media reports that U.S. intelligence believes Kim has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons despite his pledge to denuclearize.

Despite Bolton's remark, the State Department has declined to set a timeline for denuclearization of North Korea.

"I know some individuals have given timelines. We're not going to provide a timeline for that," department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

Pompeo is negotiating with North Korea "with eyes wide open, with a very clear view," Nauert said.

Trump has said he will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations, asserting they gave North Korea too many concessions despite the country not abandoning its nuclear arsenal and infrastructure.


(Pompeo speaks to the press in Singapore on June 11, 2018)
[Getty/Kyodo]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang on Friday, aiming to agree with North Korea on concrete steps to rid the country of nuclear weapons.

Pompeo plans to spend a day and a half in the North for meetings with leader Kim Jong Un and other officials to work out specifics, such as a full and honest declaration by Pyongyang on its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, as well as ways to verify measures for denuclearization.

It marks the first high-level talks between the two countries since Kim committed to the "complete" denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during a historic meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore.

Pompeo said in a Twitter post early Friday that he looks forward to "continuing our work toward the final, fully verified denuclearization" of North Korea, as agreed to by Kim.

Speaking on a CBS News program Sunday, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton said he expects Pompeo to discuss with North Korea a plan to dismantle all of its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs "in a year."

Following talks in Pyongyang, Pompeo will travel to Tokyo on Saturday for a trilateral meeting the following day with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung Wha over coordinated action toward North Korea.

Pompeo's visit to the North comes amid media reports that U.S. intelligence believes Kim has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons despite his pledge to denuclearize.


(Pompeo speaks to the press in Singapore on June 11, 2018)
[Getty/Kyodo]

Despite Bolton's remark, the State Department has declined to set a timeline for denuclearization of North Korea.

"I know some individuals have given timelines. We're not going to provide a timeline for that," department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

Pompeo is negotiating with North Korea "with eyes wide open, with a very clear view," Nauert said.

Trump has said he will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations, asserting they gave North Korea too many concessions despite the country not abandoning its nuclear arsenal and infrastructure.