The State Department has denied reports that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo gave North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a copy of Elton John’s "Rocket Man" during his diplomatic trip to Pyongyang this weekend. The song is the source of "Little Rocket Man," President Trump's infamous nickname for Kim.

During their summit in Singapore last month, Kim mentioned to Trump that he was unfamiliar with the tune, and multiple news outlets report that the president sent a signed CD bearing the song as a gag gift for the North Korean leader. When asked by a reporter about the story, Secretary Pompeo laughed but did not confirm or deny it, according to NBC News.

But a State Department spokesperson later shot down the rumors, telling The Washington Post that Pompeo left Kim only a letter.

Whether or not the CD story is true, Pompeo described his meetings with North Korean diplomats as "productive." The North Korean government didn’t return the sentiment, instead describing the US as "gangster-like" in its demands for denuclearization.

Gabrielle Bruney Gabrielle Bruney is a writer and editor for Esquire, where she focuses on politics and culture.

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