폼페이오 평양 도착…북미 비핵화 담판 '2라운드' 돌입
Secretary Pompeo landed in Pyongyang at 11:52 this morning and was greeted by two very high level officials, including his North Korean counterpart.
We'll be watching for what comes out of any meetings there later today.
In the mean time our foreign ministry correspondent Lee Jiwon is on the line with the latest that we have.
Jiwon, what are you hearing?
Yes Devin, U.S. Secretary of Mike Pompeo arrived in North Korea at around noon... and was welcomed by Vice Chairman of the Ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee Kim Yong-chol, with whom he had coordinated the June 12th summit,... as well as the North's foreign minister Ri Yong-ho.
The pool reporters who are traveling with Pompeo said that the Secretary and Vice Chairman Kim held a meeting to coordinate their schedule. According to CNN, the U.S. delegates were then treated to lunch by Kim Yong-chol.
We do not yet know the exact time table of Pompeo's third trip,... but diplomatic sources say the first round of talks was expected to begin Friday afternoon,... so Devin, the two sides are likely to be talking right now.
And we are guessing that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un could treat Pompeo with a banquet for dinner.
Now what's interesting is that a South Korean daily, the Chosun Ilbo, citing an unnamed diplomatic source,... said that Pompeo will has brought Kim a letter from Trump,... and a gift -- a CD of Elton John's Rocket Man.
The inspiration for the gift reportedly stemmed from a conversation Trump had with Kim during their June summit in Singapore.
This reference to the name Trump had called Kim at one of the lowest points in their ties last year -- "little rocket man" -- we can definitely feel a change in mood.
So Ji-won, at this very important meeting, what can you tell us about what's on the agenda and who could be joining them?
Sure. Many experts have been commenting on the powerful delegation Pompeo has brought with him. It includes... the very man who was at the forefront of negotiations with the North -- U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, Sung Kim -- the Chief of the Korea Mission Center, Andrew Kim,... the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Alex Wong and even the department's Spokesperson, Heather Nauert.
Now, this is the first follow-up meeting to the North Korea-U.S. summit held last month.
Pompeo had said on his flight to Pyongyang that he seeks to fill in some details on those commitments, so the two sides are likely to discuss how, when and what to give in exchange for denuclearization and a security guarantee.
To point out a few of those, they're expected to discuss the first steps for the U.S. side and plans to establish ties with the North,... including setting up a liaison office.
As for the process of the North's denuclearization,...
Will North Korea shutdown its nuclear engine testing site, as Trump has said it promised to do,... and will North Korea accept the new t