N Korean official heads to Washington with Kim’s letter

New York, June 1: Kim Jong-un’s emissary is heading to Washington with a letter from the North Korean leader to US President Donald Trump after two days of talks here with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that has brightened the chances of a summit between the two leaders. “I am confident we are moving in the right direction,” Pompeo said on Thursday at a news conference here after his talks with Kim Yong-chol, the North Korean leader’s representative. Pompeo said: “We had a set series of items that we wanted to make sure we covered, topics which we made sure that we were clear on in terms of what our expectations were and their expectations in return of us. We achieved that.”

The talks started in New York because North Korean diplomats are barred by the US from traveling 40 km beyond the city and Kim Yong-chol needed an exemption to go to the capital. While sounding optimistic, both Trump and Pompeo also left open the possibility that the summit could hit the rocks again. Asked by a reporter if there would be a confirmation on Friday that the summit will take place, Pompeo replied: “(I) Don’t know.” “This is going to be a process that will take days and weeks to work our way through,” he said of a denuclearisation deal. “There will be tough moments, there will be difficult times.” (IANS)