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Kim, Pompeo confirmed to have spent over five hours together

Kim, Pompeo confirmed to have spent over five hours together

Posted October. 09, 2018 07:52,   

Updated October. 09, 2018 07:52

한국어

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent a total of five hours and thirty minutes with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his visit to Pyongyang on Sunday, two hours longer than initially thought.

“Foreign news reports said that the two met for an hour and a half or two hours, but they spent a total of five and a half hours together according to those who traveled with Pompeo,” said Kim Eui-kyeom, the presidential office’s spokesperson, during a briefing Monday. “It appears (the two) met for two hours in the morning and had lunch together for about an hour and a half, and held another meeting for about two hours in the afternoon. I think Chairman Kim used sufficient time and exercised sincerity while putting weight on the meeting with Secretary Pompeo.”

Meanwhile, North Korea seemed to maintain a forward-looking attitude to build trust with the United States during Pompeo’s latest visit. The fact that the bilateral meeting lasted over five hours is in stark contrast to Pompeo’s third visit in early July, which was criticized for having failed to produce visible results. This time, Kim apparently took great care of the American top diplomat’s one-day trip.


Na-Ri Shin journari@donga.com