WEB DESK
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang. The two agreed to arrange a second summit meeting as soon as possible, and to form a working group to discuss the denuclearization process.
Pompeo met with Kim for over three hours on Sunday. He later traveled to Seoul to brief President Moon Jae-in on the meeting.
The South Korean Presidential Office says Pompeo and Kim also discussed how the US would inspect the North’s denuclearization process, and measures Washington would take in return.
Pompeo told Moon the visit was a step in the right direction but that there were still lots of things to do.
Denuclearization talks had been deadlocked for months until last month’s inter-Korean summit.
That’s when the North said it was ready to shut down its Nyongbyon nuclear facility if the US takes reciprocal steps.
The US State Department says the North Korean leader invited US inspectors to visit the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. The North says it dismantled the test site earlier this year.
US and North Korean negotiators also agreed to form a working group. This indicates that challenges still remain unresolved such as how to proceed with denuclearization.
Pompeo said his visit to Pyongyang was “another step forward” to denuclearization. He added that he had a “good, productive conversation” with the North Korean leader but that more still needed to be done.