President Trump confirmed early Wednesday morning that his nominee for secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, met with North Korea’s leader last week ahead of Trump’s expected meeting with Kim Jong Un later this year.
Trump in a tweet praised Pompeo’s efforts and stressed that upcoming talks aimed at the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula would yield results.
“Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed,” Trump wrote.
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“Details of Summit are being worked out now,” the president added. “Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!”
News of Pompeo’s surprise visit to North Korea broke Tuesday night, days after the former CIA chief had returned from the reclusive nation. The top-secret trip took place during Easter weekend.
Just hours earlier, Trump told reporters at the White House that conversations with North Korean officials were occurring at “very high levels” but did not provide more details.
“We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea,” the president said. “I really believe there’s a lot of goodwill. We’ll see what happens, as I always say. Because ultimately it’s the end result that counts.”
Pompeo’s trip represents the highest-level meeting between Pyongyang and Washington in nearly two decades.
Trump has picked Pompeo, formerly his CIA chief, as his next secretary of State, though multiple Democratic senators have raised concerns about his experience during his confirmation process.