U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped to make progress on denuclearisation and a second U.S.-North Korean summit, as he kicked off an Asian trip on Saturday that will feature a meeting with Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang.
Mr. Pompeo arrived in Tokyo on the first leg of a tour that will take him to Pyongyang on Sunday for a fourth time as the contours of a possibly historic U.S.-North Korea deal take shape.
‘Unified view’
Speaking alongside Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mr. Pompeo said the two historic allies would have a “fully coordinated, unified view of how to proceed, which will be what is needed if we are going to be successful on denuclearising North Korea.”
Japan, which has seen North Korean missiles fly over its territory and been threatened with annihilation, has historically taken a hard line on Pyongyang and stressed the need to maintain pressure on the regime.
More recently, however, Mr. Abe has said that the only way to improve strained ties is a face-to-face meeting with former international pariah Kim.
It was important for the U.S. and Japan to be “fully in sync” before he headed to Pyongyang, insisted Mr. Pompeo.
On the plane over, Mr. Pompeo said his aim was to “develop sufficient trust” between Washington and Pyongyang to inch towards peace. “Then we are also going to set up the next summit,” he said.
