Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the US has no plans to offer concessions to Pyongyang in the wake of threats to revive its nuclear program, as he prepares to host Kim Jong-un’s second-in-command in New York.
Pompeo said the visit of Kim Yong-chol, the vice chairman of North Korea’s ruling party, and its frequent representative abroad, in the coming week is a sign that relations between the two states have only grown since the summit between Donald Trump and the North Korean leadership in June.
“I expect we’ll make some real progress including an effort to make sure that the [next] summit between our two leaders can take place where we can make substantial steps towards denuclearization,” said the US diplomat, during an interview with CBS Face the Nation on Sunday.
Kim Yong-chol, a military general considered a hardliner, made a historic unofficial visit to New York in May, prior to the previous leaders’ meeting, which took place in neutral Singapore.
While the photo ops received media coverage, neither side put forward terms on which North Korea would abandon its missile program, nor how quickly the economic sanctions against the East Asian country would be dropped.
But Pompeo said that Pyongyang was already showing good faith by avoiding further flashpoints.
“The American people need to remember the North Koreans haven’t launched a missile, haven’t conducted a nuclear test.
