Pompeo says U.S. talks with North Korea moving in the right direction
High-ranking Kim Jong-un aide expected to deliver personal letter from leader Kim Jong-un to Trump
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he's confident talks with North Korean officials are moving in the right directionand that a North Korean envoy will travel to Washington to deliver a personal letter from leader Kim Jong-un to President Donald Trump.
"Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste," Pompeo told reporters after a second day of meetings with North Korean vice-chairman Kim Yong-chol in New York.
"Vice-chairman Kim Yong-chol is now planning to travel to Washington to deliver a personalletter from chairman Kim Jong-un," Pompeo told reporters, noting that there has been real progress, but much remains to be done.
A U.S. official told The Associated Press the high-stakes discussion on Thursdaylasted a little more than two hours, until 11:25 a.m. ET, well before the scheduled end at 1:30 p.m. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the details of the meeting and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Pompeotold reporters that the meeting hadn't ended abruptly, saying that they had covered all the material they planned to discuss.
He said he believes North Korea is contemplating making a strategic shift, one that leadersweren't ready to make in the past.
"This will obviously be their decision," he said. "They'll have to choose a path that is fundamentally different than the one that their country has proceeded on fordecades. It should not be to anyone's surprise that there will be moments along the way that this won't be straightforward."
He said it will take days and weeks to work through the issues, which involves dealing with decades-old challenges.
Earlier Thursday,Trump saidthe talks are going "very well," and thatPompeo is having "very good meetings."
Very good meetings with North Korea.
—@realDonaldTrumpTrump andKim Jong-un had been scheduled to hold an unprecedented summit inSingapore on June 12. Disputes between Washington and Pyongyangled Trump to cancel the meeting, only to see a renewal ofdiplomatic efforts in recent days.
There were reports earlier on Wednesday that South Koreanofficials were noting "quite significant" differences betweenthe United States and North Korea overdenuclearization.
The United States has been demanding that North Koreaabandon its nuclear weapons program amid reports that it isclose to being able to launch a nuclear-tipped missile capableof reaching the United States.
Pyongyang has long argued that it needed nuclear weapons forits security.
The New York meetings follow high-level conversations Pompeoheld in North Korea in April and earlier in May and are intendedto get negotiations between the two longtime adversaries backon track.
Kim Yong-chol, a close aide of Kim Jong-un and vice chairmanof the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, is the mostsenior North Korean official to meet top U.S. officials fortalks in the United States in nearly two decades.
In Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un welcomed visiting Russian ForeignMinister Sergei Lavrov in the first meeting between a Russianofficial and Kim as head of state. Lavrov invited Kim to Russia, and called for a phasedapproach to denuclearization, including easing of internationalsanctions on North Korea.
According to a North Korean news agency, the two countries agreed to step up exchanges and co-operation.
U.S. seeking clarity onintentions
The United States, in return for North Korea giving up itsnuclear weapons, could potentially loosen sanctions, leading topossible food and other aid to impoverished North Korea andimproved ties with South Korea.
A senior state department official briefed reportersseparately as Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol met late on Wednesday.The official, who asked not to be identified, said North Koreais "going to have to make clear what they are willing to do" inresponse to Washington's demands.
Trump, the official said, "can make a fly or no-fly decisionany time he wants," referring to the possible Singapore summit.
If not enough progress is made to lead to a productivemeeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un, the official said, "wewill ramp up the pressure on them and we'll be ready for the daythat hopefully they are ready."
The two Koreas have technically been at war for decades,even though the Korean War's military combat ended in 1953,because a peace agreement was never signed.
China, North Korea's main trading partner and a key ally,said it supported and encouraged the "emerging good faith"between the United States and North Korea.
Peace, not just denuclearization
"At the same time as working to achieve the goal ofdenuclearization, we should also build long-term and effectiveinitiatives to keep peace on the Korean Peninsula," China's foreign ministry deputy directorHua Chunying said in Beijing.
Russia has appeared to be on the fringes of a flurry ofdiplomacy, but Lavrov's visit was a move to raise its profile ininternational efforts to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula,said Artyom Lukin, a professor at Far Eastern Federal Universityin Vladivostok.
"Moscow wants to be in the loop concerning the latestdevelopments, especially with respect to the likely summitbetween Trump and Kim Jong-un," Lukin said.
"For its part, North Korea would like to have Russiansupport entering high-stakes negotiations with Washington."
With files from CBC News and The Associated Press
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