As part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to denuclearize North Korea.... U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to have just arrived in Pyongyang for follow-up talks to the first ever North Korea-U.S. summit that was held in Singapore last month.
For more on this,... we now connect to our foreign ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won.
Ji-won,... what are we hearing?
Ji-yoon, after a brief refueling stop at Japan's Yokota Air base,... Pompeo is expected to have landed in Pyongyang within the past few minutes,.. starting his third official visit to the North.
His delegation, according to ABC News, includes State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert and Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Alex Wong.
Pompeo, during his long flight from Washington via Alaska and Japan,... has continued to express his hope and determination to lead these denuclearization talks with the North to a successful conclusion.
About an hour-and-a-half ago, Pompeo tweeted that he spoke to President Trump while they were both in air and said the president believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sees a different, brighter future for his people.
Pompeo added that he and the president hope this is true.
And hours earlier, Pompeo tweeted that he looks forward to continuing their work toward the 'final, fully verified denuclearization' of North Korea, which Pompeo says Kim Jong-un has agreed to.
Ji-won, that phrase 'final, fully verified denuclearization' appeared again,... after the State Department first used it in its press statement a few days ago,... and we've been hearing reports that it shows a softened tone from Washington.
Can you tell us more about that?
Sure, before leaving Alaska, Nauert actually denied the U.S. had softened its approach toward North Korea's denuclearization.
She told reporters that nothing could be further from the truth and their policy has not changed.
This, as you briefly mentioned, comes as Reuters reported Thursday that the Trump administration had stepped back from its 'complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearization' demand, this citing two unnamed U.S. officials.
Many experts have been saying that with the word 'irreversible' gone from the new mantra, and the emphasis more on 'verifiable',... Pompeo is likely to stress the process of verification during his talks with the North this time.
But we'll have to wait and see about that.
Meanwhile, adding to what Pompeo had said about talking with President Trump.
The U.S. President told reporters onboard Air Force One that while he really believes Kim Jong-un sees a different future for North Korea,... the U.S. can revert back to it's previous stance... if that's not the case.
That's all from me for now, but I'll be back with more updates later.
