Donald Trump gifts Kim Jong-un with Elton John ‘Rocket Man’ CD

AS denuclearisation talks continue, US President Donald Trump has given the North Korean dictator a bizarre gift, which has left everyone else flabbergasted.

Donald Trump gifts Kim Jong-un with Elton John ‘Rocket Man’ CD. Picture: AP

US SECRETARY of State Mike Pompeo has touched down in Pyongyang to press Kim Jong-un for a more detailed commitment to denuclearisation — and he has brought with him a bizarre gift for the North Korean dictator from US President Donald Trump.

According to reports in South Korean media, Mr Pompeo was carrying an Elton John CD, more specifically a copy of John’s “Rocket Man”.

Major South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo, citing unnamed Washington sources, said the “Rocket Man” CD was a gift for Kim Jong-un, a reference to Mr Trump’s “Little Rocket Man” gibe of last year.

Donald Trump has reportedly sent Kim Jong-un a signed copy of Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’ as a gift. Picture: AFP

Mr Trump reportedly asked Kim in their historic June meeting in Singapore if he knew the song, but Kim didn’t. The president has also reportedly written a message on the CD and signed it.

But what Mr Trump and Mr Pompeo thought would be a lighthearted gift to ease tensions has spectacularly backfired, with people on Twitter slamming the president as immature and dangerous.

Mike Pompeo is in DPRK today. #POTUS apparently sent him with a letter and a... wait for it... CD of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.”

It’s like we’re being led by a 10-year-old.

Nope... actually, I’m fairly confident that my 10yo has more common sense.

— BVK (@TheRealBVK) July 6, 2018

Yes, it's wise to reinforce "rocket man" as a brave and even hip self-image to an insecure man already hell-bent on building intercontinental nuclear missiles. Oh, yes. Cle-ver! https://t.co/4DdyPbMPU5

— M.S. Bellows, Jr. (@msbellows) July 6, 2018

Trump gave Mike Pompeo a CD with Elton John's "Rocket Man" on it, to give to Kim Jong Un today.

OUR PRESIDENT IS MAKING MIX TAPES FOR OTHER DICTATORS!!

— Hayden Black (@haydenblack) July 6, 2018

Do I think this will start WWIII? No. Do I think it’s immature, ridiculous and shows Trump has no grasp of reality? Yes. Does it show the world Trump’s complete lack of seriousness & ignorance? Yes. Do I think Trump was advised against it but insisted. ABSOLUTELY. #Unfit https://t.co/7Efk4SXoh6

— April (@speakout_april) July 6, 2018

TALKS TO CONTINUE

Since meeting Kim in Singapore last month, Mr Trump has been bullish about hopes for peace, boasting that the threat of nuclear war is over.

But the statement the leaders signed was short on clear commitments when it came to denuclearisation.

Kim agreed to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula” — a stock phrase favoured by Pyongyang that stops short of longstanding US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a “verifiable” and “irreversible” way.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo greets North Korea's director of the United Front Department, Kim Yong Chol. Picture: AFP

Mr Pompeo has been tasked with negotiating a plan that Washington hopes would involve Kim declaring the extent of his nuclear weapons program and agreeing a timetable for it to be dismantled.

“Our leaders made commitments at the Singapore summit on the complete denuclearisation of North Korea,” Mr Pompeo had earlier told reporters travelling with him.

“On this trip I’m seeking to fill in some details on those 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.”

Kim’s right hand man Kim Yong-chol welcomed Mr Pompeo to North Korea, noting that it was his third visit to the country.

“The more we meet, the deeper our friendship will be, I hope,” he said.

“The more you come, the more trust we can build between one another.”

The top US diplomat, who will be staying overnight in the North Korean capital for the first time, said he looked forward to a “very productive” encounter.

After a nearly three-hour meeting with Kim Yong-chol on Friday night, the pair broke up for dinner, with the US side saying that talks would continue on Saturday morning.

US President Donald Trump stands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their historic meeting in Singapore. Picture: AP

Washington hopes that “complete” denuclearisation can begin within a year, but many expert observers and Trump critics warn that Kim’s summit promise meant little and the process could take years — if it ever starts.

In the meantime, Mr Pompeo and Mr Trump have vowed to keep in place the international economic sanctions that they believe forced the North to the negotiating table in the first place.

After his talks with North Korea, Mr Pompeo is due to fly on to Tokyo to brief his Japanese and South Korean counterparts.

His round-the-world diplomatic voyage will then take him on to Vietnam and Abu Dhabi before he arrives in the Belgian capital Brussels to rejoin Mr Trump for next week’s NATO summit.