U. S. Secretary of State did not meet with Kim Jong Un during his two-day visit to North Korea in the wake of the Trump-Kim summit
TOKYO, Japan — In a face-to-face visit with hopes of putting meat on the bones after the historic summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, U. S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent two days in North Korea this week negotiating with counterparts. In a first, he even spent a night in a guesthouse belonging to the regime in Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
Pompeo, however, did not meet with Kim Jong Un or walk away with any significant developments on moving closer to the denuclearization of North Korea. The trip was Pompeo’s third to North Korea this year, and it marked the first time he did not meet with the leader.
“I think we made progress in every element of our discussions,” Pompeo told reporters after he was asked if a timeline was set for denuclearization and if there was an agreement for the regime’s destruction of its nuclear program.
Later on Saturday, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called talks with Pompeo “regrettable” and accused the U. S. of unilateral demands for denuclearization, The Associated Press reported.
Pompeo, who was carrying out the first meeting between the U. S. and North Korea since Mr. Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Singapore last month, would not reveal any details on the progress he said was made. He didn’t cite any major breakthroughs.
Ahead of the visit, the State Department did not make promises about what Pompeo might walk away with. After the meetings, Pompeo admitted that certain areas of U. S.-North Korea negotiations still have a long way to go.
“These are complicated issues, but we made progress on almost all of the central issues,” Pompeo said.
