Kim Yong-chol, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's special envoy, leaves after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York, Thursday. / Reuters-Yonap



Kim Jong-un's envoy heading to Washington, D.C. after talks in New York



By Lee Min-hyung



U.S. President Donald Trump has revealed a plan to deal with North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) ― along with its nuclear weapons ― at this month's summit with the North's young leader Kim Jong-un.



In an interview with Reuters, Thursday, Trump said he will put the regime's missile programs on the nuclear dialogue table between Washington and Pyongyang. The U.S. views the ICBMs as a threat because the long-range missiles ― which can reach the U.S. mainland ― are designed to carry nuclear warheads.



"I would like to see a total denuclearization in as quick a period of time as is practicable," Trump said.



The denuclearization talks between the two sides are ongoing under a positive mood, with the North showing no signs of canceling the June 12 summit between Trump and Kim.



On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Kim Yong-chol ― a ranking North Korean envoy ― in New York as part of high-level pre-summit talks. The two officials are known to have exchanged ideas on the scope of denuclearization and narrowed their differences to prepare for the first Washington-Pyongyang summit.



After the two-day meeting with Pompeo, Kim Yong-chol will visit Washington on Friday to meet Trump and deliver a personal letter from the North Korean leader. This is the first time in 18 years that a ranking North Korean official has met a U.S. president.



Trump also said he is "looking forward to seeing the letter" and hopes to make progress on the June 12 summit. But he remained cautious, hinting at the possibility a nuclear deal with Pyongyang cannot be reached all at once.



"I would like to see it done in one meeting," Trump was quoted as saying. "But oftentimes that is not the way deals work. There is a very good chance that it will not be done in one meeting or two meetings or three meetings. But it will get done at some point."



It remains to be seen whether the June 12 summit will proceed as planned due to the unpredictable nature of North Korea. In mid-May, Pyongyang threatened to cancel the summit, citing Seoul-Washington joint military drills so did the U.S.



Despite the regime's recent verbal provocations, both sides came to terms with each other and regained the momentum to hold the summit as scheduled.



Earlier this week, the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), the North's mouthpiece, also reported on the Washington-Pyongyang summit, saying Kim Jong-un expressed gratitude to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for mediating talks between Washington and Pyongyang for the meeting.



On Thursday, Pompeo said talks with the North Korean envoy were "moving in the right direction" for the summit.



"Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste," Pompeo said after talks with Kim Jong-un's right-hand man.



During the summit, Trump is expected to reaffirm his determination to carry out complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of North Korea in exchange for guaranteeing regime security and easing economic sanctions.



The North, however, is yet to hint at any detailed bargaining chips it will play during the summit. On Friday, the Rodong Sinmun, the regime's newspaper, expressed its solid and unwavering determination to push for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula through talks and negotiations with other countries.

