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Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo attends his confirmation hearing at the US Senate in Washington

High-ranking officials in the US Donald Trump administration – including Trump himself, Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis – offered optimistic predictions on Apr. 12 for an upcoming North Korea-US summit. During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing that day, Pompeo said he was “optimistic” that Washington could set conditions through the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to “set us down the course to achieve a diplomatic outcome that America and the world so desperately need.”

Pompeo added that “no one is under any illusions” that the two sides would immediately reach a comprehensive deal through the summit. But he added that they might “set out the conditions that would be acceptable to each side for the two leaders that will ultimately make the decision about whether such an agreement can be achieved and then set in place.”

With his optimistic predictions for the North Korea-US summit where a denuclearization deadline and basic principles on denuclearization and compensation are to be discussed, Pompeo was seen as hinting that a specific road map may be discussed through later working-level talks.

Explaining that the US administration wants to “get the outcome permanently, irreversibly, that . . . we hope to achieve” before offering rewards to North Korea, Pompeo added, “It is a tall order, but I am hopeful that President Trump can achieve that through sound diplomacy [personally or through the State Department].”

But when asked by Senator Cory Gardner if complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization was the US’s only goal with North Korea, Pompeo remained cautious.

“We need to ensure that we continue to provide a strategic deterrence framework for our allies in the region: the South Koreans, the Japanese and others as well,” he said.

“But the purpose of the meeting is to address the threat to the United States,” he added.

Pompeo also asserted that he had “never advocated for regime change” in North Korea and was not advocating for it now. His message contrasted with remarks made during a July 2017 security forum in Colorado, where he appeared to hint that regime change in Pyongyang was necessary.

“The most important thing we can do is separate . . . capacity and someone who might well have intent, and break those two apart,” Pompeo said at the time.

But when asked about the possibility of military action if economic pressure and diplomatic efforts with North Korea fail, Pompeo indirectly replied that Mattis had been directed to provide a list of options to achieve the President’s goals in the event that diplomatic measures proved unsuccessful.

During a meeting with state governors at the White House the same time, Trump voiced hopes for the upcoming summit with North Korea.

“Meetings are being set up right now between myself and Kim Jong-un,” he said. “I think it will be terrific.”

“I think we’re going with a lot of respect,” he added about the talks.

In a House Armed Services Committee hearing the same day, Mattis said, “We're all cautiously optimistic that we may be on the right path for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

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