Pompeo talks North Korea with Tokyo and Seoul
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, seen here with North Korean Vice-Chairman Kim Yong Chol in Washington, D.C. on Friday, has since conferred by phone with his counterparts in South Korea and Japan. AFP
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held talks on North Korea with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts ahead of a summit between Pyongyang's leader and the US president, the State Department said Monday.
The phone calls, which took place on January 20, come after President Donald Trump announced that a location for his summit with Kim Jong Un ― which is to take place near the end of February ― has been decided.
Pompeo discussed the "next steps" on North Korean engagement with Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono, while he and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha "updated each other" on engagements with Pyongyang, the State Department said.
Vice Chairman Kim Yong Chol, a right-hand man to the North Korean strongman, met Trump at the White House on Friday for an unusually long 90 minutes as the countries seek a denuclearization accord that could ease decades of hostility.
On Saturday, Trump said a "lot of progress" has been made on the issue.
Kim Jong Un and Trump first met in June in Singapore, where they signed a vaguely worded document in which Kim pledged to work toward the "denuclearization of the Korean peninsula." (AFP)