Pompeo has dinner with top North Korean official in New York: report

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to New York on Wednesday where he dined with a top North Korean official.

The meeting came amid U.S. talks with North Korean officials about possibly rebooting a planned June 12 summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

The Associated Press reported that Pompeo met with Kim Yong Chol, the country’s former military intelligence chief and a top aide in Kim’s government. The two have planned a “day full of meetings” on Thursday, according to the White House.

Pompeo has frequently been involved in high-level talks with North Korean officials since joining the Trump administration. Earlier this month, Pompeo traveled to North Korea where he secured the release of the three remaining U.S. citizens imprisoned by the country.

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Other U.S. teams met with their North Korean counterparts Wednesday at the Korean Demilitarized Zone, as well as at a neutral meeting place in Singapore where the scrapped June summit was set to occur.

Trump and other U.S. officials have indicated that the summit, which the president canceled last week, could still occur if talks improve between the two nations.

“If it happens, we’ll certainly be ready,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said of the summit at Wednesday’s daily press briefing. “We’re going to continue to shoot for June 12.”

Early Tuesday the president tweeted that he had received a “solid response” from representatives of North Korea following his letter canceling the June summit.

“We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young [sic] Chol, the Vice Chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York,” he tweeted.

“Solid response to my letter, thank you!”