Just hours after President Trump touted his efforts to denuclearize North Korea at a boisterous rally Saturday night, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters he had a “very productive” meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Sunday.
Although there were no immediate indications the secretary of state had arranged for a second major summit between Trump and Kim, both leaders have publicly voiced support for another meeting.
The jovial feeling during Pompeo’s fourth trip to North Korea appeared to be mutual. “It’s a very nice day that promises a good future for both countries,” Kim told Pompeo through a translator as they sat down for a 90-minute luncheon.
The cordial atmosphere was a marked change in tone from recent negotiations. In July, when Pompeo last visited North Korea, officials there almost immediately decried his “unilateral and gangster-like demand for denuclearization,” souring relations between the two countries.
In August, Trump abruptly canceled Pompeo’s planned trip to North Korea, saying, “I do not believe they are helping with the process of denuclearization as they once were.” Trump cited his tougher trade practices with China as a possible reason for the regime’s posture. – READ MORE
[divider][/divider]The Trump administration is working on a second summit between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“There’s still a little bit of work to do left to make sure that the conditions are right and that the two leaders are put in the position where we could make substantial progress,” Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News. “I’m hoping I’ll be back in Pyongyang before too long to make some more progress. And if that’s the case, I’m very hopeful that Chairman Kim and President Trump will get a chance to meet in the near future as well.”
Last month, Secretary Pompeo canceled what would have been his fourth trip to Pyongyang, citing insufficient progress by North Korea in dismantling its nuclear weapons program. This week, the State Department revealed Kim had agreed to the “denuclearization of North Korea, to be completed by January 2021.”
The secretary refused to set a deadline on what the United States wants North Korea to accomplish by the end of this year.
Next week, Pompeo and President Trump will travel to New York for the annual United Nations General Assembly. This morning, the president tweeted: “I will Chair the United Nations Security Council meeting on Iran next week!” – READ MORE
[contentcards url=”https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pompeo-has-very-successful-morning-with-kim-jong-un-as-talks-for-second-major-summit-with-trump-continue” target=”_blank”]