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CIA Director Mike Pompeo

With a North Korea-US summit scheduled for May, the US’s top diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, has been sacked, with CIA Director Mike Pompeo nominated to replace him. The reshuffle is presumably aimed at getting results leading up to the summit.

“Mike Pompeo, Director of the CIA, will become our new Secretary of State. He will do a fantastic job! Thank you to Rex Tillerson for his service!” US President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter on the morning of Mar. 13.

Trump’s replacement of his Secretary of State even as he is expressing his strong commitment to a summit with North Korea is likely a strategic move made with the summit in mind. While Pompeo is regarded as a hardliner on North Korea, he has also reportedly been in communication with the South Korean government and played an important role behind the scenes in making the North Korea-US summit a reality.

In a situation where Trump must deal with critical matters – namely, dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arsenal and altering the US’ hostile policy toward North Korea that has persisted for decades, he has apparently concluded that the CIA director would make the best choice for Secretary of State.

“As Director of the CIA, Mike has earned the praise of members in both parties by strengthening our intelligence gathering, modernizing our defensive and offensive capabilities, and building close ties with our friends and allies in the international intelligence community… I am confident he is the right person for the job at this critical juncture. He will continue our program of restoring America's standing in the world, strengthening our alliances, confronting our adversaries, and seeking the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” Trump said in a separate statement.

A former congressman with the Republican Party, Pompeo is regarded as a loyalist who enjoyed a special relationship with Trump, even compared to other high-ranking officials in the government. Trump’s trust in Pompeo flourished during their daily morning briefings. “A senior US official said the president wanted to reshuffle his team ahead of talks with North Korea,” AFP reported. The American press reported that Trump also plans to use Pompeo in ongoing trade negotiations with various parties.

Former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Tillerson had been dogged by rumors about his termination since last summer because of his friction with Trump over climate change policy and appointments to the State Department. Tillerson also reportedly referred to Trump as a “moron” last fall. The rumors returned at the end of last year, and there were repeated claims that Trump was displeased with Tillerson because of his support for dialogue with North Korea. But Trump has criticized such reports as “fake news.”

Tillerson’s dismissal was announced suddenly. While on a tour of Africa, Tillerson reportedly hastened home on Mar. 12 after the “surprise development” of a North Korea-US summit. But a US government official said that Trump had informed Tillerson of his dismissal on Mar. 9. Even so, Tillerson talked to reporters who had accompanied him on the journey home about the nature of the summit and the location where it would be held, saying that a neutral site would be good. Even after arriving in Washington, Tillerson continued to go about his usual routine and released a statement about the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the UK.

At first blush, Tillerson’s dismissal might appear to be a factor that could complicate American preparations for its upcoming summit with North Korea. Following the recent retirement of US State Department Special Representative for North Korea Policy Joseph Yun, attention has been drawn to the shortage of staff who can guide North Korean policy at the State Department. But the fact that Tillerson said that “in terms of direct talks [with North Korea]… we’re a long way from negotiations” just five hours before Blue House National Security Advisor Chung Eui-yong announced the North Korea-US summit at the White House” shows that he had already been sidelined on this issue.

Trump’s pick for the next CIA director is Gina Haspel, currently the agency’s deputy director of the agency. Haspel is a somewhat controversial choice given her role in the CIA’s rendition program of suspected terrorists, which included oversight of a secret prison in Thailand where members of the al-Qaeda network were subjected to brutal interrogation methods in the early 2000s. If confirmed, Haspel will be the first woman to lead the CIA.

By Lee Bon-yong, staff reporter

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