Preparations for Trump-Kim meeting on track, Pompeo says

Pompeo spoke with Kim Jong Uni's supreme deputy in New York on plans to meet between leaders of the United States and North Korea.

Preparations for the meeting between leaders of the United States and North Korea are continuing well, say American officials.

Kim Jong Chol is the top North Korean official to visit the United States in 18 years. After the third meeting between him and the chief of US diplomacy, State Secretary Mike Pompeo said real progress has been achieved.

Vice President Kim Jong Chol now plans to come to Washington to deliver a personal letter to Chairman Kim Jong Un.

The proposed meeting provides a historic opportunity for President Trump and Chairman Kim to courageously lead the United States and North Korea towards a new era of peace, prosperity and security,” said Mr. Pompeo.

Meanwhile, American officials said Washington expects a historic pledge from North Korea before the meeting takes place.

Yesterday, President Trump tried not to entertain hopes of a quick solution to persuade North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons, saying it might take more than a meeting between the two leaders to finalise the nuclear disarming agreement.

Foreign policy analysts warn there are a number of challenges:

David Albright, Institute for Science and International Security

Must be a difficult process of verification, nuclear disarming should be carried out: closing nuclear facilities, verifying the amount of enriched plutonium and enrichment level,” says analyst David Albright.

Analyst David Albright predicts North Korea will eliminate all nuclear programmes and weapons relatively quickly, in exchange for security guarantees and concessions from the United States. /voa