Pompeo meets North Koreans, hopes for 'fill in' details on the nucleation

SEOUL / WASHINGTON (Reuters) – US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo puts North Korean officials in Pyongyang on Friday, hoping to "fill in" details on how to dismantle the North's nuclear program and recover the remains of US troops Korean War.

Pompeo puts Kim Yong Chol, who played a key role with the President of the United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, according to a travel report.

Pompeo's talks with Kim were expected to last a "couple of hours" and it was uncertain whether he would meet Kim Jong Un, the report said. He will spend the night in Pyongyang, North Korea.

"Today's meeting is a really meaningful meeting," Kim Yong Chol told Pompeo.

"Yes I agree," Pompeo answered. "

At the Singapore summit, Kim Jong Un made a broad commitment to" work toward denuclearization ", but failed dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, which it has pursued in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

"The President told me he believes that Chairman Kim sees a different, future brighter for the people of North Korea. We both hope that's true, "Pompeo said on Twitter after a phone call with Trump as he headed for North Korea.

"Next stop: Pyongyang. I look forward to continuing my meetings with North Korean leaders. There is much hard work ahead but peace is worth the effort. "

Pompeo said he was seeking to" fill in "some details on North Korea's commitments and maintain the momentum of implementing the agreement from the summit, according to the report.

Pompeo would try to agree on at least an initial list of nuclear sites and an inventory that could be checked against the available intelligence, U.S. intelligence officials told Reuters.

Also high on the agenda is the issue of the remains of US 1950-53 Korean War. Trump said after the Singapore summit that Kim had agreed to go back to the United States.

Kim Is serious about negotiations. North Korean officials have yet to demonstrate that in working-level talks, the intelligence officials said.

"If they're serious, then we can get down to the business of defining the terms of finalization," said one official.

But the ability to verify the accuracy of any North Korean nuclear warrior is limited to the lack of a "high confidence" of the North's nuclear arsenal, such as the number of warheads and uranium enrichment facilities, especially if they are not operational, they said.

While, in the past, The Pentagon has said North Korean officials have said they have left the country 200 US troops, a US military official said North Korea may be over.

"Until we have the necessary DNA testing to verify which they are, and they have had the possibility of remaining one of the same soldiers, we won ' t know for sure what they've given back, "the official said.

"BUILDING TRUST"

Pompeo was greeted by Kim Yong Chol and Foreign Minister Yong Ho Ri, who some Seoul officials expect to lead negotiations, according to the pool report.

Kim Yong Chol is a hardline trainer, while a diplomat with a long history of negotiations on the nuclear issue. Whether Kim or Ri leads on Pyongyang will take, experts said.

Pompeo will stay in the Paekhwawon, or 100 Flowers Garden, a prestigious guesthouse where to form South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun stayed with Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, in 2007.

"This is "Yeah, you know," Kim Yong Chol told Pompeo at the guesthouse, according to the report. "

Pompeo replied:" I was joking that if I come here, I will have to pay taxes here. "

Some officials in the State and Defense Departments and in US intelligence agencies are worried that Trump has put itself at a disadvantage by overstating the results of the Singapore summit.

Ahead of the summit, Pompeo said Trump would reject anything short of "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization".

But following talks on Sunday between U.S. sent Sung Kimand North Korean counterparts, this "CVID" language appears to have disappeared from the State Department lexicon.

North Korea denuclearises, but in statements this week, it redefined the U.S. goal as "the final, fully verified denuclearization" of the country.

Some U.S. officials and experts have said that they are changing in a language. The State Department said its policy remains unchanged.

Pompeo's talk will be closely watched in the region. He is here to meet all of South Korea and Japan in Tokyo on Sunday.

A spokesman for South Korea's presidential office would only say South Korea and the United States were working to formulate "constructive measures" on North Korea's denuclearization.