Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that in private messages from Kim Jong Un to President Donald Trump, the North Korean dictator has been “very consistent” that he’s “intent on denuclearizing” the Korean Peninsula.
“He understands that, he understands the scope of that and what that means, he’s been very consistent in his commitment in delivering on that promise, we need to find our way forward to achieve that for the world,” Pompeo told “CBS This Morning” co-host Norah McDonnell Wednesday.
Pompeo’s comments come as the two leaders intend on sitting down for another summit to continue work on verifiable denuclearization. The secretary said that while a location and date have not been set yet, he will personally be traveling to Pyongyang “before too long” in order to get the conditions “just right.”
“It takes a little while to put these together and we want to make sure we got the conditions just right so the two leaders can be successful.” Pompeo said the summit “may” happen in October but would be more likely to take place “some time after that.”
Pompeo also confirmed to CBS that Kim would be allowing inspectors into nuclear testing sites as part of the commitment made to the United States.
“We’re working our ways to make sure that this verification that we have talked about since the beginning and many have been skeptical.. we’re going to get this right, we’re going to deliver on the commitment that Chairman Kim has made to the world and then there’s going to be a brighter future for the North Korean people,” he said.
Pompeo added that while it was hard to know if and when the two leaders would discuss a formal declaration of the end of Korean war, there is still “real progress being made.”
“I’m not going to talk about the conversations, the negotiation each day, the twists and turns,” he said. “What we’re going to do is continue the good work we have had, we’re going to make sure there’s no more missile tests, no more nuclear tests, we’re going to continue to work on getting American remains back, we’re going to continue to work toward denuclearization, and it will take awhile, there will be a process to this.”
Meanwhile, ahead of Mr. Trump’s U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran, Pomepo condemned President Hassan Rouhani’s comments before the international body in which he compared Mr. Trump’s “tendencies” to a “Nazi disposition.”
“It is outrageous for him to say such things, for a holocaust-denying country that is threatening Israel to compare the United States or its leader to Nazis is among the most outrageous things I have heard,” said Pompeo.
He said that Rouhani’s statements on Tuesday indicate they are not in a place to have a sit-down meeting with Mr. Trump to discuss Iran’s malign behavior.
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