Summit Expectations

[Anchor Lead]

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo remarked that he expects to make progress at the second summit, between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un. The top American diplomat said that he hopes to make progress on each one of the four items agreed at the first summit in Singapore.

[Pkg]

During his European tour, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shared his expectations for the upcoming Pyongyang-Washington summit. He spoke about the four pillars agreed during the June Singapore summit and expressed hopes of making progress on each one. The four pillars refer to establishing new Pyongyang-Washington ties, settling permanent peace, making efforts to completely denuclearize the Peninsula, and recovering the remains of American soldiers. Meanwhile, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met with the South Korean delegation led by National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang in Washington and explained some of the discussions that went on recently in Pyongyang. The delegates reported North Korea and the U.S. agreed on the agendas and talked about more than 12 agendas. According to the South Korean delegates who attended the meeting, Biegun pointed out it would be hard to resolve all the issues since the summit is only two weeks away, but there is a possibility the two sides can agree on some issues. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told the visiting delegation that economic sanctions will remain in place until the final, complete, and verifiable denuclearization of the regime. Speaker Moon replied, everything should happen under the iron-clad alliance between Seoul and Washington. The South Koreans said Special Representative Biegun spoke of the day when a trilateral meeting among the two Koreas and the U.S. may take place, but added that any development between Seoul and Pyongyang should take place within the confines of international sanctions.