Pompeo leaves for Japan after finishing third visit to North Korea
- 6 years ago
Our top story this evening.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has wrapped up his second and final day in Pyongyang.
He has departed for Tokyo on his second leg of his trip,.... and some significant progress seems to have been made in North Korea.
For more, let's connect to our Foreign Ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won.
Mark, after his second round of talks with his North Korean counterparts, Pompeo completed his third visit to the North and left for Japan Saturday afternoon.
According to the AFP, which cited the pool report from the North, Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea's Workers' Party's Central Committee held their second meeting of this visit from 9 a.m., through 3 p.m., at Paekhwawon, the state guesthouse where the U.S. delegation stayed overnight.
Before going into the meeting, the two exchanged comments on their talks on Friday, with Kim Yong-chol saying the two had very serious discussions on very important matters, and jokingly said that Secretary Pompeo might have not slept well last night.
But Pompeo replied that he slept just fine and that he looked forward to today's meetings.
The Secretary then reiterated that the "complete denuclearization" of the North,... and building a relationship between the two states are vital for the success their leaders' demand of them.
And both chief delegates said they have things to clarify at their meeting today.
Their first round of talks were held for about three hours Friday,... followed by a lengthy dinner.
Meanwhile, we do not yet know whether Pompeo met with North Korean Kim Jong-un during his visit there,... like the previous two times when he came in late March and May.
Now Ji-won,... tell us what was discussed during Pompeo's visit there?
According to Reuters, citing State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, accompanying Pompeo in the North, two sides agreed to set up working groups to deal with "nitty gritty stuff" on North Korea's denuclearization.
On the U.S. side, the group is led by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and former nuclear negotiator Sung Kim,...including deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong and more.
Nauert said the group will be directing the State Department's planning, policy, implementation and verification of efforts to achieve denuclearization of Pyongyang.
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.
But we do not yet know if they have been handed over to the U.S. delegates.
Now we will be able to hear the full summary of the visit on Sunday at a joint press conference held after Pompeo meets with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Tokyo.
Back to you.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has wrapped up his second and final day in Pyongyang.
He has departed for Tokyo on his second leg of his trip,.... and some significant progress seems to have been made in North Korea.
For more, let's connect to our Foreign Ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won.
Mark, after his second round of talks with his North Korean counterparts, Pompeo completed his third visit to the North and left for Japan Saturday afternoon.
According to the AFP, which cited the pool report from the North, Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea's Workers' Party's Central Committee held their second meeting of this visit from 9 a.m., through 3 p.m., at Paekhwawon, the state guesthouse where the U.S. delegation stayed overnight.
Before going into the meeting, the two exchanged comments on their talks on Friday, with Kim Yong-chol saying the two had very serious discussions on very important matters, and jokingly said that Secretary Pompeo might have not slept well last night.
But Pompeo replied that he slept just fine and that he looked forward to today's meetings.
The Secretary then reiterated that the "complete denuclearization" of the North,... and building a relationship between the two states are vital for the success their leaders' demand of them.
And both chief delegates said they have things to clarify at their meeting today.
Their first round of talks were held for about three hours Friday,... followed by a lengthy dinner.
Meanwhile, we do not yet know whether Pompeo met with North Korean Kim Jong-un during his visit there,... like the previous two times when he came in late March and May.
Now Ji-won,... tell us what was discussed during Pompeo's visit there?
According to Reuters, citing State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, accompanying Pompeo in the North, two sides agreed to set up working groups to deal with "nitty gritty stuff" on North Korea's denuclearization.
On the U.S. side, the group is led by U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and former nuclear negotiator Sung Kim,...including deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong and more.
Nauert said the group will be directing the State Department's planning, policy, implementation and verification of efforts to achieve denuclearization of Pyongyang.
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.
But we do not yet know if they have been handed over to the U.S. delegates.
Now we will be able to hear the full summary of the visit on Sunday at a joint press conference held after Pompeo meets with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Tokyo.
Back to you.