Mike Pompeo to Visit North Korea for Preparation of Second Trump-Kim Summit

The U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, stated on Wednesday, September 26, that he had a constructive meeting with his North Korean counterpart and would travel to North Korea next month to prepare for the second summit between the two leaders. Pompeo tweeted that the discussion with Ri Yong-ho, the North Korean Foreign Minister, at the United Nations General Assembly was about the upcoming summit and 'next steps towards the denuclearization of North Korea.' He added, 'There is still a lot of work to be done, but we will continue to move forward.' The U.S. State Department announced that Pompeo accepted Kim Jong-un's invitation to visit North Korea, marking his fourth trip to the country this year. The State Department added, 'The purpose of this visit is to advance the complete and final denuclearization of North Korea and to prepare for the next meeting between the two leaders.' The first unprecedented meeting between the two leaders took place in June in Singapore, where both sides generally committed to cooperating towards the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. However, North Korea has yet to fulfill U.S. demands, including providing complete details of its weapons programs and taking effective steps to halt its nuclear programs, which are considered a threat to the U.S. On Wednesday, Donald Trump stated that the U.S. and North Korea have 'great relations' and that he would announce the time and place of the next meeting with Kim Jong-un soon. In an interview with CBS News, Pompeo said, 'U.S. officials are carefully preparing for the next summit between the two leaders.' He added that the next summit might take place in October or likely after that. South Korea reported that Kim Jong-un has requested another meeting with Trump. Trump also responded on Wednesday to a question about what actions North Korea should take before the next summit, saying, 'We have made a lot of progress since last year. They are denuclearizing North Korea, and the two countries now have great relations.' Trump's comments this year contrast sharply with his remarks last year at the United Nations General Assembly, where he threatened to 'totally destroy' North Korea and referred to its leader as 'Little Rocket Man.' In his speech on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly, Trump praised Kim Jong-un's courage to disarm but emphasized that much work remains and that U.S. sanctions against North Korea would continue until it is fully denuclearized. He also mentioned during a Security Council meeting on Wednesday that important events regarding North Korea have occurred away from the media spotlight. Trump added, 'I think good things will happen in North Korea in the months and years to come. I believe we will reach an agreement, but unfortunately, to ensure continued progress until North Korea is fully denuclearized, we must implement Security Council resolutions.' Pompeo, in his CBS interview, stated that the North Korean government has agreed to international inspections of its nuclear facilities. He added, 'From the beginning of our negotiations, we have emphasized the verification of the denuclearization process. We will not believe any claims and will ensure that Kim Jong-un fulfills his promises to the international community.' After his last visit to Pyongyang in July, Pompeo said progress had been made, but shortly afterward, the North Korean government referred to his requests as 'gangster-like.'