This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has agreed to a second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, South Korea says.
The comments by South Korea’s presidential office on October 7 come after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Seoul following what he called “productive” talks on denuclearization in North Korea earlier in the day.
The South Korean statement reported Pompeo said that “he agreed with Chairman Kim to hold the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the earliest date possible.”
No specific date was set.
Trump met Kim in Singapore in June for a historic summit.
The leaders hailed major agreements toward denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but little progress, if any, has been made since.
Pompeo did not immediately comment on the South Korean report of a second summit. But after meeting with Kim, he tweeted, “We continue to make progress on agreements made at Singapore Summit. Thanks for hosting me and my team.”
Pompeo said at a meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on October 7 that he had “a good productive conversation” with Kim, in talks which represented “another step forward.
Kim hailed his “nice meeting” with Pompeo and told the top U.S. diplomat that it was “a very nice day that promises a good future…for both countries.”
South Korea’s Moon said the “whole world” was watching Pompeo’s Asia visit.
“I hope your trip to North Korea and the upcoming second U.S.-North Korea summit will provide a good opportunity for achieving irreversible, decisive progress in terms of denuclearization and the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.”
The secretary of state will also visit China, North Korea’s main ally, on this trip.
