US holds high level talks with North Korea: Donald Trump
Donald Trump has affirmed the meeting between Mike Pompeo and Kim Jong-un, and said it went smoothly.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed CIA director Mike Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week and is excited about the prospect of a meeting with the leader of the reclusive state.
“Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!” Trump tweeted.
Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018
The top secret meeting came soon after Mr Pompeo was nominated to replace Rex Tillerson as Secretary of State, according to the Washington Post.
Last week at his confirmation hearing, Mr Pompeo spoke of his hopes that Mr Trump and Mr Kim would “have that conversation” to achieve “a diplomatic outcome that ... America and the world so desperately need.”
Earlier, the White House was forced to deny that Mr Trump had spoken directly to Mr Kim after the President inadvertently misled reporters on high level talks.
Walking across the lawns at his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago after a photo call with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Trump answered “Yes” when asked by reporters if he had spoken to Mr Kim.
Minutes later, the White House denied such a conversation had taken place but confirmed US officials had held talks at the “highest levels” with the North Korean regime.
Officials on both sides are negotiating the terms of a summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim aimed at eliminating Pyongyang’s stock of nuclear weapons.
Earlier, senior officials said they had spoken to Mr Kim in “ongoing” discussions. Mr Trump also said his administration has had direct talks with North Korea at “very high levels.”
Mr Trump said he expects the meeting to happen “probably in early June” or before. The US has had no diplomatic relations with North Korea, and Mr Trump would be the first sitting president to meet with the country’s leader.
Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Mar-a-Lago, Mr Trump’s Florida resort, the president said the US and Japan were “very unified on the subject of North Korea.” “We’ll be having meetings with Kim Jong-un very soon,” Mr Trump said. He said the meeting would take place by early June “assuming things go well.” He added: “It’s possible things won’t go well and we won’t have the meetings, and we’ll just continue to go on this very strong path we have taken.”
North Korea earlier this month told the US that Mr Kim is prepared to discuss the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, clearing the way for a summit meeting between the North Korean leader and Mr Trump, US officials said.
US officials didn’t say when and how that assurance was delivered, but US and North Korean officials have been in communication.
Mr Trump on Tuesday also referred to talks between North and South Korea, which he said had his “blessing.” “They do have my blessing to discuss the end of the war,” the president said. “People don’t realise the Korean War has not ended. It’s going on right now. And they are discussing an end to the war. Subject to a deal they have my blessing and they do have my blessing to discuss that.” Mr Abe, following Mr Trump’s remarks, said Japan had “observed major change in terms of North Korea’s behaviour” since the Winter Olympics in South Korea, and credited Mr Trump for the shift. “Your stance made it possible to achieve this major change,” Mr Abe said.
The remarks came during a two-day summit between Mr Trump and Mr Abe. The two are expected to discuss a range of issues, including trade policy.
The Wall St Journal
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