Our top story this morning...
One of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's right-hand man is en route to New York City for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as the two sides appear to be closing in on a summit next month.
Kim Yong-chol's visit comes as multi-layered meetings are taking place in three different locations to set the agenda for the summit and the regime's denuclearization.
Kim Hyo-sun tells us more.
The White House confirmed Tuesday that senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol is set to meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week.
This comes after President Trump tweeted that Kim, Vice Chairman of the North's Workers' Party is heading to New York City.
Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency says Pompeo and Kim will either meet for a day on Wednesday or for two days until Thursday.
They are expected to discuss the issue of denuclearization and the security of the Kim Jong-un regime.
Diplomatic sources say they will have an opportunity to reaffirm their determination for denuclearization and ensuring the security for Kim Jong-un's regime while working on the final coordinations before the leaders of the two countries meet face-to-face.
Both Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol are close aides to Trump and Kim Jong-un, respectively,... and have laid the groundwork for a North Korea-U.S. summit.
While Pompeo visited the North earlier this month,... Kim Yong-chol is the first high-level North Korean official to visit the U.S. in 18 years.
Therefore,... there's speculation Kim Yong-chol may even meet with President Trump to deliver a letter from the North Korean leader,... just as Pompeo met with Kim Jong-un as the special envoy of the U.S. president.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also said senior Trump administration officials are directly coordinating with their North Korean counterparts in Singapore and the Korean demilitarized zone.
Kim Chang-son,... the de-facto chief of staff of Kim Jong-un has reportedly met with Joe Hagin, a White House deputy chief of staff in Singapore to discuss the specific date and logistics of a North Korea-U.S. summit.
This is being carried out simultaneously with the discussions involving the nuclear negotiators from both countries,... Sung Kim, the U.S. ambassador to the Philippines and Choe Sun-hui, the regime's vice foreign minister.
Meanwhile,... Singapore's presidential palace,... also known as the Istana,... could host the historic summit.
This is according to South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo daily,... which quoted unnamed sources as saying it could be the venue considering the meeting's magnitude and sensitivity.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
