Pompeo in Pyongyang seeks progress on NKorea nuke commitment
PYONGYANG, Korea, Democratic People’s Republic Of — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for nearly three hours Friday with a top North Korean official in Pyongyang to nail down specifics of commitments on denuclearization made at President Donald Trump’s summit with leader Kim Jong Un last month.
Pompeo has the crucial task of dispelling growing skepticism over how serious Kim is about giving up his nuclear arsenal and translating the upbeat rhetoric following the June 12 summit into concrete action.
It’s his third trip to the North Korean capital in as many months, and his first since the summit. At the top of his meeting with Kim Yong Chol, a senior ruling party official and close aide to North Korea’s leader, Pompeo quipped about his frequent visits.
“I was joking that if I come one more time, I will have to pay taxes here,” the top U.S. diplomat said.