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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is expected to take place early next year, a senior government official said on Friday.
FILE PHOTO: US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hold a signing ceremony after their summit at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island in Singapore, June 12, 2018. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst / Photo File
The two sides engaged in talks on the second leaders' meeting after the unprecedented first in Singapore in June.
"A meeting will probably take place after the beginning of the year," an American official told a small group of journalists.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that he hoped to meet with his North Korean counterpart to lay the groundwork for a "big step forward" in denuclearization at the next summit.
Pompeo, in an interview with Voice of America during a trip to Mexico City, said that Kim had told him two weeks ago that he was committed to keeping the promises that he had made. he had made to Trump during their first summit.
"I strongly hope that senior leaders will meet here in the coming weeks between me and my counterpart to continue this discussion so that when the two come together, there is a real opportunity to take another big step on denuclearization, "he told VOA.
Pompeo met with North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September.
A spokeswoman for the state department declined to say whether Pompeo wanted him to meet with his counterpart in Washington, saying she had no meeting to announce.
The United States and South Korea said on Friday that they had suspended the next joint air defense exercises to ensure continued diplomatic efforts with North Korea.
The two Koreas held three summits this year.
Report by Steve Holland, David Alexander and David Brunnstrom; Edited by James Dalgleish
