Senior North Korean official arrives in U.S. for pre-summit talks with Pompeo
- 6 years ago
Our top story this monring...
Kim Yong-chol,... one of the most trusted members of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's inner circle is now in New York City for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Whether or not the summit goes ahead on June 12th in Singapore could well hinge on how that meeting goes.
It's thought their talks will be used to see if they are on the same page so they can forge a lasting agreement going forward.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Hoping to salvage a highly-anticipated summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump,...
Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee arrived at JFK International Airport on Wednesday local time,... becoming the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. since 2000.
Kim,... a former military intelligence chief and one of the North Korean leader's most trusted aides was escorted out of the airport by State Department officials,... as he prepared for his meeting in New York City with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Kim and Pompeo's talking points have not been made public.
But it's widely believed their meeting is for the final coordination of the agenda for the Pyongyang-Washington summit -- how North Korea will denuclearize... and how the U.S. will guarantee the regime's security.
This... as an extension of the North Korea-U.S. working-level talks that took place twice this week at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
The delegations at Panmunjom -- led respectively by Washington's former negotiator on North Korea, Sung Kim, and Pyongyang's Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui -- met on Sunday and Wednesday.
"Well, this will be the Secretary's third meeting with Kim Yong-chol. They've had, obviously, very deep conversations where they've talked about a lot of detail about what the United States' expectations are."
"If Kim Yong-chol and Mike Pompeo settled on a basic draft of their agreement and President Trump accepts it, then that will lead to a confirmation that the summit will take place for sure. The fact that Kim Yong-chol is visiting the U.S. -- that in itself means that coordination between the two is almost over,... with only a few factors left to be resolved."
There's also speculation Kim Yong-chol could visit Washington and meet with President Trump.
But Kim is under U.S. sanctions for his role in North Korea's nuclear program and other illicit activities,... and may need further approval should he travel to the U.S. capital.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
Kim Yong-chol,... one of the most trusted members of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's inner circle is now in New York City for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Whether or not the summit goes ahead on June 12th in Singapore could well hinge on how that meeting goes.
It's thought their talks will be used to see if they are on the same page so they can forge a lasting agreement going forward.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Hoping to salvage a highly-anticipated summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump,...
Kim Yong-chol, a vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee arrived at JFK International Airport on Wednesday local time,... becoming the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. since 2000.
Kim,... a former military intelligence chief and one of the North Korean leader's most trusted aides was escorted out of the airport by State Department officials,... as he prepared for his meeting in New York City with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Kim and Pompeo's talking points have not been made public.
But it's widely believed their meeting is for the final coordination of the agenda for the Pyongyang-Washington summit -- how North Korea will denuclearize... and how the U.S. will guarantee the regime's security.
This... as an extension of the North Korea-U.S. working-level talks that took place twice this week at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom.
The delegations at Panmunjom -- led respectively by Washington's former negotiator on North Korea, Sung Kim, and Pyongyang's Vice Foreign Minister, Choe Son-hui -- met on Sunday and Wednesday.
"Well, this will be the Secretary's third meeting with Kim Yong-chol. They've had, obviously, very deep conversations where they've talked about a lot of detail about what the United States' expectations are."
"If Kim Yong-chol and Mike Pompeo settled on a basic draft of their agreement and President Trump accepts it, then that will lead to a confirmation that the summit will take place for sure. The fact that Kim Yong-chol is visiting the U.S. -- that in itself means that coordination between the two is almost over,... with only a few factors left to be resolved."
There's also speculation Kim Yong-chol could visit Washington and meet with President Trump.
But Kim is under U.S. sanctions for his role in North Korea's nuclear program and other illicit activities,... and may need further approval should he travel to the U.S. capital.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.