Thursday, May 31, 2018

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Pompeo and a NoKor official met in New York



US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior North Korean official met in New York on Wednesday as both sides prepare for a summit between their leaders.

The two had a 90-minute working dinner with 13 days to go before a possible summit in Singapore between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Yong-choi, a vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, became the highest-ranking North Korean to visit the US since 2000.

His meeting with Pompeo is expected to determine whether the two sides have enough common ground to push the summit on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for concessions.

Kim Yong-choi is expected to carry a personal letter from Kim amid reports the young leader is committed to denuclearization and a meeting with Trump.

In New York, Kim Yong-choi and Pompeo are expected to push for a deal that will satisfy US demands for complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization and North Korean demands for security guarantees for the regime.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters in Washington, the two officials will have a full day of meetings Thursday. This is their third sit-down following meetings during Pompeo's two trips to Pyongyang in April and May. The secretary of state left for New York after meeting with the president at the White House.

Source: Arirang News

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