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| Mike Pompeo arrives in North Korea to prepare for summit | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Washington’s chief diplomat, Mike Pompeo, has arrived in North Korea to prepare for a landmark nuclear summit between the US president and his North Korea counterpart, Kim Jong-un. | |
| Trump announced the mission just as he declared he was breaking with a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. | Trump announced the mission just as he declared he was breaking with a landmark nuclear deal with Iran. |
| Trump and Kim are expected to meet later this month or early in June for talks that would have been nearly unthinkable a year ago, when the two mercurial leaders were trading barbs and Pyongyang tested a barrage of missiles. | Trump and Kim are expected to meet later this month or early in June for talks that would have been nearly unthinkable a year ago, when the two mercurial leaders were trading barbs and Pyongyang tested a barrage of missiles. |
| But after months of saber-rattling, and a historic summit between Kim and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, the mood is decidedly more upbeat, and Trump has said a date and location are already set – though he did not divulge any specifics. | But after months of saber-rattling, and a historic summit between Kim and the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, the mood is decidedly more upbeat, and Trump has said a date and location are already set – though he did not divulge any specifics. |
| “At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un,” Trump said. | “At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un,” Trump said. |
| “We have our meeting schedule. We have our meeting set. The location is picked. The time and date. Everything is picked. And we look forward to having a very great success,” he said. | “We have our meeting schedule. We have our meeting set. The location is picked. The time and date. Everything is picked. And we look forward to having a very great success,” he said. |
| “We think relationships are building with North Korea. We will see how it all works out. Maybe it won’t. But it can be a great thing for North Korea, South Korea and the entire world.” | “We think relationships are building with North Korea. We will see how it all works out. Maybe it won’t. But it can be a great thing for North Korea, South Korea and the entire world.” |
| Pompeo flew out of Washington under cover of darkness late on Monday aboard an Air Force 757 accompanied by a handful of senior aides, a security detail and two journalists: one from The Associated Press and one from The Washington Post. The flight arrived on Wednesday morning and North Korean officials were on hand to greet the American diplomat. | |
| US officials say Pompeo will press North Korea for the release of three detained American citizens, whose imminent release Trump has been hinting at. His trip comes just days after North Korea expressed displeasure with Washington for comments suggesting that US pressure had pushed Kim to the negotiating table. | US officials say Pompeo will press North Korea for the release of three detained American citizens, whose imminent release Trump has been hinting at. His trip comes just days after North Korea expressed displeasure with Washington for comments suggesting that US pressure had pushed Kim to the negotiating table. |
| Pompeo, who first traveled to North Korea as CIA chief in early April, is only the second sitting secretary of state to visit the reclusive nation with which the US is still technically at war. The first was Madeleine Albright in 2000 who went as part of an unsuccessful bid to arrange a meeting between the then president, Bill Clinton, and Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il. | Pompeo, who first traveled to North Korea as CIA chief in early April, is only the second sitting secretary of state to visit the reclusive nation with which the US is still technically at war. The first was Madeleine Albright in 2000 who went as part of an unsuccessful bid to arrange a meeting between the then president, Bill Clinton, and Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il. |
| Pompeo told reporters aboard his plane that his first visit was to test the seriousness of North Korea’s pledges to South Korea on easing tensions. This trip is “to put in place a framework for a successful summit”, he said. | Pompeo told reporters aboard his plane that his first visit was to test the seriousness of North Korea’s pledges to South Korea on easing tensions. This trip is “to put in place a framework for a successful summit”, he said. |
| Although there were no guarantees that the American prisoners would be freed during Pompeo’s visit, US officials said their release would be a significant goodwill gesture ahead of the Trump-Kim summit that is expected later this month or in early June. | Although there were no guarantees that the American prisoners would be freed during Pompeo’s visit, US officials said their release would be a significant goodwill gesture ahead of the Trump-Kim summit that is expected later this month or in early June. |
| “I think it would be a great gesture if they would agree to do so,” Pompeo said, adding that it would be difficult to hold a leaders’ summit if the prisoners remained captive. The three Korean-Americans Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim are all accused by the North of anti-state activities. | “I think it would be a great gesture if they would agree to do so,” Pompeo said, adding that it would be difficult to hold a leaders’ summit if the prisoners remained captive. The three Korean-Americans Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim are all accused by the North of anti-state activities. |
| Trump’s announcement came on the heels of talks in north-east China between Kim and China’s Xi Jinping – their second meeting in six weeks – at which Kim reiterated his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. | Trump’s announcement came on the heels of talks in north-east China between Kim and China’s Xi Jinping – their second meeting in six weeks – at which Kim reiterated his commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. |
| Kim’s unannounced trip to the Chinese port city of Dalian was his second visit to China since March, highlighting efforts by the cold war-era allies to mend relations that cooled as Beijing supported UN sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. | Kim’s unannounced trip to the Chinese port city of Dalian was his second visit to China since March, highlighting efforts by the cold war-era allies to mend relations that cooled as Beijing supported UN sanctions over Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. |
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