President Donald Trump might again meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in New York City this fall.
Axios exclusively reported the scoop on Monday, citing administration officials.
“Officials tell us that Kim would have to show progress for the meeting to occur. One possibility would be for Trump to hold out a Round 2 meeting as a carrot to encourage real movement by North Korea over the summer,” Axios reported.
NEW from @mikeallen: Trump may hold Round 2 with Kim Jong-un in NYC https://t.co/9QL47pXiC5
— Jonathan Swan (@jonathanvswan) July 2, 2018
The meeting could possibly take place in September, around the same time as the United Nations General Assembly, when world leaders and diplomats are in the city.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is said to be traveling to North Korea this week for talks on denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, among other issues. This would be the first time a high-level meeting between the U.S. and North Korea has taken place since President Trump and Kim Jong Un’s historic summit earlier this month in Singapore.
While Trump and Kim’s summit in Singapore this June was successful – the President had high praises for Kim and North Korea following the meetings there – there is speculation as to exactly what kind of progress will be made on the Korean Peninsula and putting an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs.
Just a few weeks after the summit, satellite images revealed that North Korea has been making “rapid” infrastructure improvements at a nuclear research facility.
In early June, President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed an agreement that called for denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Satellite images that have been taken since the meeting reveal that work is still being done on one of North Korea’s main nuclear reactors.
The images were obtained by North Korea analysis outlet 38 North and indicate that improvements are being made to the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center at a “rapid” pace. The facility is located north of DPRK capitol Pyongyang.
Multiple structures – including buildings, a new cooling water pump house, a completed cooling water reservoir and an active radiochemical laboratory – have been added to the facility.
Analysts believe that the continued work at the nuclear facility shouldn’t be tied to Kim’s meeting with Trump, and it doesn’t indicate the long-term success of the historic Singapore summit.
Another analyst believes that an actual deal should be signed between the U.S. and North Korea that sets specific terms that must be followed.
Pompeo has traveled to North Korea several times this year now, and many of those meetings were to lay the groundwork for the Trump-Kim summit.
Now, Pompeo is the lead man on the United States’ plan to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula.
