North Korea, U.S. agree to set up working groups for North's denuclearization
- 6 years ago
Our top story this afternoon.
It's U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's second day in Pyongyang.... and already some significant progress seems to have been made.
For more, let's connect to our Foreign Ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won,... just walk us through what we've learnt so far...
Mark, a second round of talks started at 9 a.m. this morning -- three hours ago -- between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea's Workers' Party's Central Committee.
The talks are being held at Paekhwawon, the state guesthouse where Pompeo and the rest of the U.S. delegation stayed overnight.
Some substantial achievements seem to have been made, including the two sides setting up working groups to deal with "nitty gritty stuff" on North Korea's denuclearization,... including validation efforts.
This is according to the pool report that quoted State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Saturday, one of the U.S. delegates accompanying Pompeo on his third visit to the North.
She also said the two sides discussed the repatriation of some 200 remains of American soldiers who died on the northern side of the peninsula during the Korean War.
As the two chief delegates headed into the meeting, Pompeo said the "complete denuclearization" of the North,... and building a relationship between the two states is vital for the success their leaders' demand of them.
Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol agreed there are things they need to clarify.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports, citing the pool report,... that Pompeo left Paekhwawon, to make a secure phone call to update President Donald Trump on the first round of talks before heading into the second round.
Ok, so it's good to know that progress is being made... and hopefully those remains can finally come home soon. For those who may need a refresher of what happened on Friday,... just tell us what happened on Pompeo's first day in the North Korean capital....
Yes Mark,... on the first day, the two officials held talks for about three hours and also had lunch together.
According to the pool report, Kim Yong-chol said the two had very serious discussions on very important matters on Friday, and jokingly said that Secretary Pompeo might have not slept well last night.
Pompeo replied that he slept just fine and that he looked forward to today's meetings.
Secretary Pompeo has also been active sharing his time in the North through his Twitter.
He posted photos of him and his team at the negotiating table with comments like his team has worked "tirelessly to keep the conversation moving forward" since the June 12 summit... that they've just wrapped up their first meeting of the trip... and that he's proud of his team's work.
Meanwhile, North Korea's state media reported on Pompeo's visit a day after he arrived in Pyongyang,... but simply said the two sides are holding high-level talks to carry out the agreements reached in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
But
It's U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's second day in Pyongyang.... and already some significant progress seems to have been made.
For more, let's connect to our Foreign Ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won,... just walk us through what we've learnt so far...
Mark, a second round of talks started at 9 a.m. this morning -- three hours ago -- between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea's Workers' Party's Central Committee.
The talks are being held at Paekhwawon, the state guesthouse where Pompeo and the rest of the U.S. delegation stayed overnight.
Some substantial achievements seem to have been made, including the two sides setting up working groups to deal with "nitty gritty stuff" on North Korea's denuclearization,... including validation efforts.
This is according to the pool report that quoted State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Saturday, one of the U.S. delegates accompanying Pompeo on his third visit to the North.
She also said the two sides discussed the repatriation of some 200 remains of American soldiers who died on the northern side of the peninsula during the Korean War.
As the two chief delegates headed into the meeting, Pompeo said the "complete denuclearization" of the North,... and building a relationship between the two states is vital for the success their leaders' demand of them.
Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol agreed there are things they need to clarify.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports, citing the pool report,... that Pompeo left Paekhwawon, to make a secure phone call to update President Donald Trump on the first round of talks before heading into the second round.
Ok, so it's good to know that progress is being made... and hopefully those remains can finally come home soon. For those who may need a refresher of what happened on Friday,... just tell us what happened on Pompeo's first day in the North Korean capital....
Yes Mark,... on the first day, the two officials held talks for about three hours and also had lunch together.
According to the pool report, Kim Yong-chol said the two had very serious discussions on very important matters on Friday, and jokingly said that Secretary Pompeo might have not slept well last night.
Pompeo replied that he slept just fine and that he looked forward to today's meetings.
Secretary Pompeo has also been active sharing his time in the North through his Twitter.
He posted photos of him and his team at the negotiating table with comments like his team has worked "tirelessly to keep the conversation moving forward" since the June 12 summit... that they've just wrapped up their first meeting of the trip... and that he's proud of his team's work.
Meanwhile, North Korea's state media reported on Pompeo's visit a day after he arrived in Pyongyang,... but simply said the two sides are holding high-level talks to carry out the agreements reached in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
But