WASHINGTON/SEOUL — The US and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, reported CNN, citing several administration officials familiar with the discussions..
WASHINGTON/SEOUL — The US and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, reported CNN, citing several administration officials familiar with the discussions.
Trump agreed to the summit on the spot when visiting South Korean officials — South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Eui Yong and intelligence chief Suh Hoon — presented him the invitation from Mr Kim early last month (March).
The timeline for the Trump-Kim summit remains unknown although the South Korean side have said that it would take place by May.
Officials said the current target is late May or even June, according to CNN.
According to CNN, the talks between the US and North Korea’s intelligence officials are aimed at laying the ground for a meeting between Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo, who awaits Congressional confirmation for his appointment as a secretary of state, and the head of the North’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, whose identity has not been confirmed.
Both sides have met several times in a third country to determine a location for the historic summit, US officials told CNN.
CNN quoted US officials as saying that the summit will be held at the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar — a proposal that North Korea has already relayed to the US, according Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
