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Pompeo: My Conversations With Kim Jong Un Were 'Good,' 'Warm,' 'Substantive'

May 11, 2018

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described his recent conversations with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as "good," "warm," and "substantive" during a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on Friday.

Pompeo was responding to a reporter who asked the top American diplomat what his impression is of the North Korean dictator and what it was like to talk to him.

"You have had more subsequent conversations with Kim Jong Un than arguably any other Westerner," the reporter said to Pompeo. "What is your impression of him? Do you think he's rational, and simply what's it like to talk to him?"

"We had good conversations, substantive conversations, conversations that involve deep, complex problems" Pompeo said, adding that the U.S. seeks the complete denuclearization of North Korea in diplomatic talks.

"Our conversations were warm," Pompeo added later in his response. "We were each representing our two countries, trying our best to make sure that we were communicating clearly, that we had a shared understanding about what our mutual objectives were. But we had good conversations about the histories of our two nations, the challenges that we've had between us. We talked about the fact that America has often in history had adversaries who we are now close partners with and our hope that we could achieve the same with respect to North Korea."

Pompeo earlier this week visited North Korea for the second time and secured the release of three American prisoners. During his visit, Pompeo finalized the details for the upcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Kim.

At Friday's press conference, Pompeo reiterated the Trump administration's demand that North Korea must "fully denuclearize."

Trump announced Thursday that his meeting with Kim will take place in Singapore on June 12, saying they would try to make it a "very special moment for world peace."