US, NK en route to nuclear bargain
Both Kim, Trump show satisfaction at progress made
By Lee Min-hyung
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said he reached a “satisfactory” agreement in a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Wednesday, boosting the prospects for a grand nuclear bargain at his upcoming summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
The agreement came during Pompeo's surprise Pyongyang visit. The meeting was arranged to narrow bilateral differences regarding the agenda of the regime's pledge for denuclearization before the first-ever U.S.-North Korea summit slated for next month.
According to the North's state-controlled media, Thursday, Kim exchanged his views of current political affairs on the peninsula with Pompeo who delivered a recorded message from U.S. President Donald Trump.
“The upcoming Pyongyang-Washington summit will become a historic meeting to build a better future on the peninsula,” the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted Kim as saying. It added he reached a satisfactory agreement in the meeting with Pompeo.
Both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on preparatory measures for the upcoming summit, according to the regime's mouthpiece.
The KCNA reported Kim expressed gratitude to Trump, speaking highly of his dialogue-driven peace efforts.
Trump also hinted at his excitement for the meeting and the North's decision to release three U.S. citizens detained in the reclusive country.
“I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the three wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting,” Trump tweeted Wednesday.
“They seem to be in good health. Also, (Pompeo had a) good meeting with Kim Jong-un. Date and place (for the upcoming summit have been) set,” he said.
But he did not elaborate on other details over the much-anticipated historic meeting between leaders from Washington and Pyongyang.
South Korea also voiced optimism for the North's decision to release the American captives, saying it will pave the way for Washington and Pyongyang to hold a peaceful and successful summit.
Trump calls Moon
A Cheong Wa Dae official said President Moon Jae-in had a telephone conversation with Trump, Wednesday night, in which the latter said Pompeo and Kim had “very productive” discussions.
President Moon also responded, saying: “The North's hostage release is a very good decision from a humanitarian perspective.”
Moon also gave credit to Trump for the achievement, saying it was due to his strong determination and leadership.
The conversation came two weeks after the two leaders shared their views on the inter-Korean summit held April 27 on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjeom.
At that summit, Moon and Kim signed a series of agreements, with the North pledging to stop any military provocations and carry out complete denuclearization of the peninsula.
But as the Panmunjeom Declaration did not contain details over how to verify the North's pledge, some critics argued that Kim will follow the same path as his father Kim Jong-il, by failing to fulfill the declaration.
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon, however, said last week that detailed ways to achieve complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) of the Korean Peninsula will be discussed at the Washington-Pyongyang summit.