White House clarifies that Trump did not talk directly with Kim Jong-un
- 6 years ago
There's not long to go until the inter-Korean summit,... and while preparations for that are moving along rapidly,... the pre-talks on laying the groundwork for the first ever U.S.-North Korea summit are also fast developing,... although mostly under wraps... until today at least.
This morning we heard reports that President Trump had talked with the North Korean leader for the first time on the phone, but the White House was quick to correct that.
For more, we connect to our Lee Ji-won on the phone.
Ji-won, can you tell us more about what happened?
Mark, it was mistakenly reported that President Trump had direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as Trump smilingly answered "yes" to a reporter who asked if he has spoken directly with Kim.
Now, THAT would have been a major development if it were true, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders soon clarified that the talks were not with Kim directly.
Now,... what we DO know is that the U.S. did engage in direct talks with the North at "extremely high levels", according to President Trump on Tuesday,... as he held his first day of two-day summit with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
But he did not specify which senior officials from Washington and Pyongyang have talked.
Ji-won, we're also hearing that Trump's pick for his next Secretary of State and current CIA chief Mike Pompeo recently visited Pyongyang and met face-to-face with Kim Jong-un?
Yes Mark, just a few hours after Trump's comments on the North, the Washington Post reported on the mission, citing two people with direct knowledge of the trip.
The report says CIA Director Mike Pompeo went to Pyongyang over the Easter weekend to meet Kim Jong-un as Trump's envoy, in an effort to lay the groundwork for the much anticipated U.S.-North Korea summit.
The Easter weekend was from March 31st to April 1st.... not long after Pompeo had been nominated for Secretary of State.
This would make Pompeo one of the most senior officials known to have visited Pyongyang in recent years,... following the nation's intelligence chief James Clapper in 2014.
But both the CIA and the White House have declined to comment on the matter.
Now, the CIA has been in direct contact with the North in recent weeks.
Multiple sources, including CNN and Reuters, reported that CIA and State Department officials are communicating with the North through back channels to plan for the summit which is expected to be held in late May or early June.
Back to you Mark.
This morning we heard reports that President Trump had talked with the North Korean leader for the first time on the phone, but the White House was quick to correct that.
For more, we connect to our Lee Ji-won on the phone.
Ji-won, can you tell us more about what happened?
Mark, it was mistakenly reported that President Trump had direct talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as Trump smilingly answered "yes" to a reporter who asked if he has spoken directly with Kim.
Now, THAT would have been a major development if it were true, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders soon clarified that the talks were not with Kim directly.
Now,... what we DO know is that the U.S. did engage in direct talks with the North at "extremely high levels", according to President Trump on Tuesday,... as he held his first day of two-day summit with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the President's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
But he did not specify which senior officials from Washington and Pyongyang have talked.
Ji-won, we're also hearing that Trump's pick for his next Secretary of State and current CIA chief Mike Pompeo recently visited Pyongyang and met face-to-face with Kim Jong-un?
Yes Mark, just a few hours after Trump's comments on the North, the Washington Post reported on the mission, citing two people with direct knowledge of the trip.
The report says CIA Director Mike Pompeo went to Pyongyang over the Easter weekend to meet Kim Jong-un as Trump's envoy, in an effort to lay the groundwork for the much anticipated U.S.-North Korea summit.
The Easter weekend was from March 31st to April 1st.... not long after Pompeo had been nominated for Secretary of State.
This would make Pompeo one of the most senior officials known to have visited Pyongyang in recent years,... following the nation's intelligence chief James Clapper in 2014.
But both the CIA and the White House have declined to comment on the matter.
Now, the CIA has been in direct contact with the North in recent weeks.
Multiple sources, including CNN and Reuters, reported that CIA and State Department officials are communicating with the North through back channels to plan for the summit which is expected to be held in late May or early June.
Back to you Mark.