Washington: United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to meet Vice Chairman of North Korea, Kim Young Chol in New York, in a bid to revive the summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, the White House said on Tuesday.
This comes after Trump on Tuesday said Chol is heading to New York to hold talks over the likely summit.
Taking to Twitter, the US President said a team has been put together which is working on talks with North Korea.
“We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you!” he tweeted.
According to The Hill, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said a high-ranking delegation of US officials will have a meeting with the North Korean counterparts at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), with “more additional meetings planned this week.”
She added that Deputy White House chief of staff Joe Hagin was on his way to Singapore to plan for logistics for the June 12 summit.
The latest flurry of diplomatic activity came after Trump on May 24 had issued an official letter to Kim to call off the most awaited summit following the latter’s threats to do the same following the US-South Korea ‘Max’ military drills.
Earlier this month, North Korea also threatened to withdraw from the Trump talks if the US continued to insist Pyongyang abandon its nuclear programme.
However, on May 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that Kim had reaffirmed his willingness to hold a summit with the US and was for the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
ANI