President Trump is expecting a Friday delegation from North Korea to deliver a letter from leader Kim Jong Un, two days after Kim’s right-hand man, Kim Yong-chol, met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for two days of discussions as the two nations attempt to salvage their planned nuclear summit.
Yong-chol was blacklisted from visiting the United States until recently.
Substantive talks with the team from #NorthKorea. We discussed our priorities for the potential summit between our leaders. pic.twitter.com/y5sMadd84v
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) May 31, 2018
“In my conversation w/chairman Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang & today with vice chairman Kim young Chol, I have been clear that Trump & the U.S. objective is consistent & well known. The complete, verifiable & irreversible denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.” -Pompeo #NorthKorea pic.twitter.com/3NycGijcIw
— Nick Short 🇺🇸 (@PoliticalShort) May 31, 2018
In comments to reporters Thursday before boarding Air Force One for a trip to meet with families affected by a school shooting earlier this month, President Trump said that talks between US and North Korean diplomats were going “very well.”
“They’re going to be coming down to Washington on Friday. And a letter is going to be delivered to me from Kim Jong Un,” he said.
Trump said that while he’s not sure if an agreement is taking shape, the negotiations “are in good hands” after the he pulled out of talks amid heightened rhetoric from Kim’s government over their nuclear ambitions and comments made about Vice President Mike Pence.
Hours later, Trump indicated he was still open to meeting with Kim – penning a letter to the North Korean leader which reads in part:
I was very much looking forward to being there with you. Sadly, based on the tremendous anger and open hostility displayed in your most recent statement, I feel it is inappropriate, at this time, to have this long-planned meeting. Therefore, please let this letter serve to represent that the Singapore summit, for the good of both parties, but to the detriment of the world, will not take place. You talk about your nuclear capabilities, but ours are so massive and powerful that I pray to God they will never have to be used.
I felt a wonderful dialogue was building up between you and me, and ultimately, it is only that dialogue that matters. Some day, I look very much forward to meeting you. In the meantime, I want to thank you for the release of the hostages who are now home with their families. That was a beautiful gesture and was very much appreciated.
Meanwhile a senior State Department official tells the BBC that Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol have been trying to get to know each other better after initial meetings in Pyongyang earlier in the year – however they needed to close the gap in understanding between the extent and pace of North Korean nuclear disarmament before the summit with Trump could proceed.
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