북한 김영철, 뉴욕 도착…폼페이오와 북미회담 최종 조율
Kim Yong-chol... a top North Korean official and one of the most trusted aides of the regime's leader sat down for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York.
Little is known about how much of the summit agenda was addressed, but it's apparent such meetings will continue to help build trust, before more serious negotiations begin.
Lee Ji-won start things off from the big apple.
In New York late Wednesday, local time, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted that he had a "good" working dinner with the vice chairman of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, Kim Yong-chol.
Pompeo said the menu included steak, corn and cheese,... and posted two pictures from the dinner.
One showed the two shaking hands, and the other was of them at the table.
Seated there also was Andrew Kim, chief of the Korean Mission Center at the CIA, a project Pompeo set up when he was the spy agency's chief.
They met at 7 o'clock that evening at the Manhattan residence of the deputy ambassador to the UN... and spent 90 minutes together.
Afterwards, Kim headed straight back to the Hilton hotel at One UN Plaza where he will be staying for two days.
U.S. State Department said Kim and Pompeo will have all of Thursday, local time, for their official meeting, starting at 9 a.m., but the venue has not been disclosed.
After the meeting, the State Department says, Pompeo is scheduled to hold a press briefing at 15 past 2 in the afternoon, local time, at the Palace Hotel.
Kim and Pompeo's talking points have not been made public.
But it's widely believed they are putting the final touches on the agenda for the Pyongyang-Washington summit -- how North Korea will denuclearize... and how the U.S. will guarantee the regime's security.
Kim Yong-chol, who arrived at JFK International Airport earlier on Wednesday, is the most senior North Korean official to step foot on U.S. soil in nearly 20 years.
To make his trip happen, he was granted a "sanctions travel waiver," as he's under U.S. sanctions for his role in North Korea's nuclear program and other illicit activities.
While Kim Yong-chol and Pompeo are meeting for the third time,... watchers are keen to find out if Kim Jong-un's right-hand man will visit Washington and meet with President Trump.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.
