Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to North Korea on Thursday as the U.S. continues its push for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Pompeo will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other officials, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during Monday’s press briefing.
The State Department said in a press release that Pompeo will visit Pyongyang as part of a week-long trip to Asia and Europe.
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He will remain in North Korea until Saturday to “continue consultations and implement the forward progress made by President Trump and Chairman Kim in Singapore,” the State Department said.
He will then travel to Tokyo for two days, followed by two day stops in Vietnam, Abu Dhabi and Brussels, respectively. Pompeo will be in Brussels for the NATO Summit, which President Trump will also attend.
Pompeo’s visit to North Korea comes amid multiple news reports that cite U.S. officials who believe North Korea is misleading the U.S. and continuing to develop its nuclear arsenal.
Sanders would not comment Monday on intelligence reports about North Korea’s nuclear program, but said the administration is “continuing to make progress” in talks with North Korea.
“We see progress and momentum in the process, and we’ve had good conversations as recently as yesterday, and we’re going to continue those conversations later this week and push forward,” Sanders said.
President Trump met with Kim in Singapore last month, where the two leaders signed an agreement that said North Korea would abandon its nuclear program. The document but did not specify a timeline or method for doing so.
Trump touted the agreement as a significant step toward peace in the world, and declared North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat.”
Recently released satellite images have cast doubt on that statement, as have reports that North Korea has increased fuel production for nuclear missiles at several secret research facilities.
National security adviser John Bolton acknowledged on Sunday that North Korea has a history of going back on its promises. He added that U.S. officials have developed a plan that would dismantle North Korea’s nuclear program within a year.