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On his third visit to North Korea

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang on July 6 for the US’s first high-level follow-up deliberations with North Korea since the two countries’ summit in Singapore on June 12. While staying in Pyongyang for two days, Pompeo is expected to engage in intense talks with the North Koreans about methods of implementing the summit agreement.

The team of American negotiators led by Pompeo arrived at Pyongyang International Airport early in the afternoon on July 6. They were met by Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol, Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and Kim Chang-son, a department director at the State Affairs Commission.

“The more often you come here, the more we’ll be able to build trust in each other,” Kim was quoted as telling Pompeo in their fifth public meeting. Pompeo reportedly expressed his agreement and said he was looking forward to what he believes will be very productive talks.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is greeted by Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang on July 6.

The first item on Pompeo’s agenda was a luncheon with Kim Yong-chol. After this, the two sides held talks at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse in Pyongyang. Tara Palmeri, a reporter for ABC wrote on her Twitter account that Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol had met for nearly three hours. “His next meeting is tomorrow at 9am but still no word on who he will be meeting with from the North Korean side,” Palmeri added.

After his meeting with Kim Yong-chol, Pompeo broke the news on his own Twitter account: “We just wrapped our first meeting of the day. I'm proud of my team’s work.” In a separate tweet, Pompeo wrote, “Three weeks since the Singapore Summit, my team has worked tirelessly to keep the conversation moving forward.”

The tweet also included a picture of the meeting room, showing Pompeo seated with US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, who led the working-level talks in Panmunjeom; Alex Wong, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the State Department; Andrew Kim, head of the CIA’s Korea Mission Center; Allison Hooker, Korea specialist on the White House National Security Council National; and interpreters. US State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert, who was also part of the delegation to North Korea, was not in the picture.

Six North Koreans could be seen in the picture, including Kim Yong-chol; Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui; Choe Kang-il, the Foreign Ministry’s deputy director general for North American affairs; and Kim Song-hye, head of the unification strategy office at the WPK’s United Front Department.

The most striking presence in the American delegation is Alex Wong, who is making his first appearance in negotiations with North Korea. Wong entered the State Department in Dec. 2017 after serving as the senior advisor for foreign affairs and security to Tom Cotton, a US Senator with the Republican Party. Wong is regarded as a possible replacement for Acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton, who will be stepping down at the end of this month.

While this was Pompeo’s third visit to North Korea, following trips in April and May, this was his first time spending the night in North Korea. Pompeo is being put up in the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse, one of North Korea’s best-known VIP accommodations whose previous guests include former South Korean presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, as well as then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, during a visit to North Korea in Oct. 2000.

The first high-level North Korea-US talks since the Singapore summit on July 6. Seated on the US side with Pompeo is US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim; Alex Wong

“On this trip I'm seeking to fill in some details on these commitments [about complete denuclearization and North Korea-US relations reached at the summit] and continue the momentum towards implementation of what the two leaders promised each other and the world. I expect that the DPRK is ready to do the same," Pompeo told accompanying reporters at Yokota Air Base on July 6.

“I really believe that [Kim Jong-un] sees a different future for North Korea. [. . .] I hope that's true,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One while traveling to a campaign rally in Montana.

“If it's not true, then we go back to the other way, but I don't think that's going to be necessary,” he added.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs in the State Department; Andrew Kim

The Trump administration has been maintaining a cautious stance and lowering expectations in advance of Pompeo’s high-level negotiations. In an ABC report, a US State Department official was quoted as saying that this is a new round of talks and as such is unlikely to produce a blueprint for denuclearization.

“It would be meaningful for [Pompeo] to hear North Korea’s concrete position about the method of denuclearization even if the two sides are unable to reach a complete agreement on the roadmap,” said a senior official in the South Korean government.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent, and Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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