Mike Pompeo, C.I.A. Chief, Visits South Korea as Tensions Grow With North
North Korea, which condemns the drill as a rehearsal for invasion, has threatened to turn the aircraft carrier into a "giant heap of scrap metal" and "bury it in the sea." South Korean and American officials have warned
that the North could be preparing to conduct its sixth nuclear test.
director, Mike Pompeo, visited the South Korean capital on Monday amid heightened tensions with North Korea,
and about a week before South Koreans vote for a new president, an embassy spokesman said on Monday.
The North Korean missile test took place as the United States aircraft carrier Carl Vinson
was sailing into Korean waters to conduct a joint naval exercise with South Korea.
News reports in South Korea speculated about which senior South Korean officials Mr. Pompeo
might be meeting with on his visit to discuss the North’s nuclear and missile abilities.
In recent weeks, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson
and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis have made separate trips to Seoul reaffirming an alliance with South Korea under President Trump in the face of growing North Korean threats.
Mr. Pompeo’s visit drew attention from the South Korean news media at a time of increasing anxiety on
the Korean Peninsula over the North’s nuclear ambitions and increased ballistic missile activity.
