CIA director secretly met with Kim Jong-un
The Washington Post reported on April 17 that Mike Pompeo, the director of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the nominee for Secretary of State by US President Donald Trump, made a secret visit to North Korea on Easter weekend and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
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| Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - Mr. Mike Pompeo. Photo: Bloomberg |
However, he insisted he did not support regime change in Pyongyang. Mr. Pompeo stressed that his role as a diplomat was to avoid confrontation.
After a year of escalating tensions over North Korea's weapons development, US President Donald Trump has turned to diplomacy and plans to hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in May or early June.
Also on April 17, the White House said the US and North Korea had contacts "at the highest levels", but President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had not spoken directly to each other.
Speaking to reporters at his Florida beach resort before bilateral meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, President Trump confirmed that the two governments are "in direct discussions," and acknowledged that there have been remarkable steps in establishing some of the most frequent channels of communication between the two countries in the past half-century.
President Trump emphasized: "We have had direct discussions at very high, very high levels with North Korea. And I really believe there is a lot of goodwill, a lot of good things going on."
