Donald Trump confirms CIA meeting with Kim Jong Un; summit details being worked out

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Mike Pompeo, the current CIA Director, is already flexing the muscles needed should he become Secretary of State, taking part in a secret meeting with North Korea, despite still requiring confirmation. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the story. Buzz60

President Trump speaks during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club, Tuesday, April 17, 2018, in Palm Beach, Fla.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump confirmed Wednesday that CIA Director Mike Pompeo traveled secretly to North Korea recently to meet with Kim Jong Un about plans for an upcoming summit between the two leaders.

"Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed," Trump tweeted on the second day of meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "Details of Summit are being worked out now."

Trump also made clear in the early-morning tweet what his demands of the North Korean leader will be: "Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!"

North Korea's nuclear weapons are a prime topic of this week's meetings at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.  After a round of a golf at a nearby Trump-owned course, Trump and Abe huddled behind closed doors Wednesday ahead of apress conference later in the day.

On Tuesday, the president hinted at Pompeo's trip, acknowledging direct talks "at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea." Aides later said those talks, which occurred over Easter weekend, did not involve Trump himself.

Pompeo is also Trump's nominee to be secretary of State. His nomination currently is tied up in the Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority and numerous Democrats have announced their opposition.

Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018

In a meeting with Abe, Trump repeated that he plans to meet with Kim, perhaps in early June. But he also raised the possibility that the summit might be called off if there is no agreement on an agenda.

"It’s possible things won’t go well and we won’t have the meetings, and we’ll just continue to go on this very strong path we have taken," he said. The reference was to economic sanctions against the North; Trump has lobbied China and other countries to cut off economic assistance.

Trump said officials are evaluating "five locations" as possible summit sites, but he did not name them.

The president also said Tuesday that he supports talks between North Korea and South Korea over formally ending the state of war that has lasted more than six decades.

Trump and Abe also are discussing trade disputes and the fate of Japanese citizens whom Abe said have been kidnapped in North Korea.

"Shinzo and I have developed a very close relationship," Trump said of his guest as their summit opened. "We speak all the time. And our nations, I think, have never been closer than they are right now."

Abe -- who has disputed some of Trump's trade policies and is worried about Japanese security in light of Kim's nuclear tests and threats -- thanked Trump for "a very in-depth discussion, focusing on the issue of North Korea and also the economic issues."

In a tweet late Tuesday, Trump poured cold water on the idea that the United States might re-join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a massive trading bloc that includes Japan and 10 other Pacific Rim countries. Trump said he prefers one-to-one trade agreements with countries like Japan.

"While Japan and South Korea would like us to go back into TPP, I don’t like the deal for the United States," Trump said. "Too many contingencies and no way to get out if it doesn’t work. Bilateral deals are far more efficient, profitable and better for OUR workers." (South Korea is not a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.)

As the American and Japanese leaders met, aides and allies of Trump talked up Pompeo's mission to North Korea.

The secretary of State nominee faces a tough confirmation fight in the Senate, and the White House used news about the trip to North Korea to pressure opposing Democrats into backing him.

In re-tweeting Trump's statement about Pompeo's visit,  White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said, "nothing could better underscore the importance of getting America's top diplomat in place for such a time as this."

Nothing could better underscore the importance of getting America's top diplomat in place for such a time as this. Dems have an opportunity to put politics aside, acknowledge our national security is too important, and confirm Mike Pompeo. Statesmanship. https://t.co/HiClCEnP3B

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) April 18, 2018

During a conference call with reporters organized by the White  House, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Democrats' efforts to obstruct Pompeo could "set back preparations" for the Trump-Kim meeting. Cotton predicted Pompeo ultimately would win confirmation as early as next week.

Democrats have questioned Pompeo's credentials and protested that Senate leaders did not receive a heads-up about his North Korea trip.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he doesn't expect diplomacy "to be negotiated out in the open" but does expect a secretary of State nominee "to share some insights about such a visit."
 

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