Pompeo to arrive in North Korea in coming hours
- 6 years ago
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is to arrive in Pyongyang in a couple of hours for follow-up talks to the first ever North Korea-U.S. summit.
He has just left a U.S. Air Force base in Japan after refueling for the last leg of his marathon trip from Washington.
For more,... we connect to our Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won,... what's the latest?
Semin, after a brief stop at Japan's Yokota Air base,... Secretary Pompeo is expected to have left for North Korea just a few minutes ago.
He's due to arrive in Pyongyang at around noon, Korea time,... around two hours from now.
His delegation, according to ABC News, includes State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert and Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong.
According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Pompeo, upon his arrival at Yokota Air Base, said he looks forward to North Korea's complete denuclearization and that he hopes to fill in the specifics of the agreements reached at the June 12th Singapore summit and to soon implement them.
He also showed such determination on Twitter, saying he looks forward to continuing their work toward the 'final, fully verified denuclearization' of Pyongyang, which Pompeo says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to.
Ji-won, that phrase 'final, fully verified denuclearization' appeared again, after the State Department first used it in its press statement a few days ago,... and we've been hearing reports that it shows a softened tone from Washington.
Can you tell us more about that?
Sure, before leaving a U.S. Air base in Alaska, Nauert actually denied the U.S. had softened its approach toward North Korea's denuclearization.
She told reporters that nothing could be further from the truth and their policy has not changed.
This, as you briefly mentioned, comes as Reuters reported Thursday that the Trump administration had stepped back from its 'complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization' demand, this citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Many experts have been saying that with the word 'irreversible' gone from the new mantra, and the emphasis more on 'verifiable',... Pompeo is likely to stress the process of verification during his talks with the North this time.
But we'll have to wait and see about that.
Meanwhile, President Trump has also expressed optimism for these talks, but did not forget to warn the North Koreans if they choose to take the other path.
On a flight to Montana for a rally, Trump told reporters Thursday that he got along "very well" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, and that he really believes Kim sees a different future for North Korea.
While Trump said he hopes that's true, he said the U.S. can revert back to it's previous stance if that is not the case.
That's all from me for now, but I'll be back with more updates later.
He has just left a U.S. Air Force base in Japan after refueling for the last leg of his marathon trip from Washington.
For more,... we connect to our Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won,... what's the latest?
Semin, after a brief stop at Japan's Yokota Air base,... Secretary Pompeo is expected to have left for North Korea just a few minutes ago.
He's due to arrive in Pyongyang at around noon, Korea time,... around two hours from now.
His delegation, according to ABC News, includes State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert and Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong.
According to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Pompeo, upon his arrival at Yokota Air Base, said he looks forward to North Korea's complete denuclearization and that he hopes to fill in the specifics of the agreements reached at the June 12th Singapore summit and to soon implement them.
He also showed such determination on Twitter, saying he looks forward to continuing their work toward the 'final, fully verified denuclearization' of Pyongyang, which Pompeo says North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has agreed to.
Ji-won, that phrase 'final, fully verified denuclearization' appeared again, after the State Department first used it in its press statement a few days ago,... and we've been hearing reports that it shows a softened tone from Washington.
Can you tell us more about that?
Sure, before leaving a U.S. Air base in Alaska, Nauert actually denied the U.S. had softened its approach toward North Korea's denuclearization.
She told reporters that nothing could be further from the truth and their policy has not changed.
This, as you briefly mentioned, comes as Reuters reported Thursday that the Trump administration had stepped back from its 'complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization' demand, this citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Many experts have been saying that with the word 'irreversible' gone from the new mantra, and the emphasis more on 'verifiable',... Pompeo is likely to stress the process of verification during his talks with the North this time.
But we'll have to wait and see about that.
Meanwhile, President Trump has also expressed optimism for these talks, but did not forget to warn the North Koreans if they choose to take the other path.
On a flight to Montana for a rally, Trump told reporters Thursday that he got along "very well" with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore, and that he really believes Kim sees a different future for North Korea.
While Trump said he hopes that's true, he said the U.S. can revert back to it's previous stance if that is not the case.
That's all from me for now, but I'll be back with more updates later.