Pompeo to visit North Korea on Oct. 7 to meet Kim

Oct 04, 2018, 09:20 am

By AsiaToday Washington correspondent Ha Man-joo & reporter Heo Go-woon

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will visit North Korea on October 7 to meet its leader Kim Jong-un, the U.S. State Department said Tuesday.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert announced Pompeo's Pyongyang trip in a regular news briefing. Nauert said Pompeo will also visit Seoul Sunday and Monday to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha to brief the Pyongyang talks.

Prior to visiting Pyongyang, Pompeo will visit Japan Saturday and Sunday for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono. After the stops in Japan, North Korea, and South Korea, Pompeo will also travel to Beijing on Monday to discuss bilateral, regional and global issues with his Chinese counterparts.

As Pompeo's fourth visit to North Korea, agreed by North Korea and the United States last month, has been confirmed sooner than expected, it is a matter of utmost concern whether there will be an additional "big deal" between the countries on denuclearization and end-of-war declaration.

Above all, Pompeo is expected to discuss the date, venue and agenda of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during his fourth trip to Pyongyang, along with negotiations in North Korea's steps to denuclearization and declaration of ending the Korean War.

The U.S. Department of State has also expressed hopes that North Korea will put its significantly advanced denuclearization measures on the negotiation table during Pompeo's upcoming visit to Pyongyang. "These conversations are going in the right direction and we feel confident to hop on a plane to head there and continue the conversations," Nauert said.

Nauert reaffirmed the Trump administration's principle of "denuclearization first", saying, "Our policy has not changed. Things stand firmly in place, such as sanctions… remain in place." However, the change in U.S. position is most noticeable as Nauert openly mentioned about consulting with South Korea and Japan regarding the declaration. "We continue to coordinate very closely as we will on this upcoming trip with our South Korean and also our Japanese counterparts," she said.

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