The White House released photos of outgoing CIA director Mike Pompeo meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Thursday after Trump said he would.

Trump in a morning interview said that Pompeo, who the Senate confirmed today to the secretary of state position, talked with Kim for more than an hour during a clandestine visit to Pyongyang earlier this month.

'He wasn't supposed to meet with Kim Jong-un, but he did,' Trump revealed on Fox & Friends. 'We have incredible pictures of the two talking and meeting, which I'd love to release if we can, I'll do that.'

The White House shared the photos eight hours later of Pompeo and Kim shaking hands, their countenance pleasant without extending into a grin.

The White House released photos of outgoing CIA director Mike Pompeo meeting North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on Thursday after Trump said he would

Trump in a morning interview said that Pompeo, who the Senate confirmed today to the secretary of state position, talked with Kim for more than an hour during a clandestine visit to Pyongyang earlier this month

The Senate confirmed Trump's former secretary of state Pompeo (seen here on Capitol Hill on Wednesday) this afternoon after a contentious confirmation battle that nearly went south when lawmakers found out that he went to Pyongyang

Trump had been asked to comment on South Korean President Moon Jae-in's tete-a-tete with Kim on Friday and to share more details, if he is able, on Pompeo's trip to Pyongyang over Easter weekend.

The president said that his administration is doing 'very well' with North Korea, unlike his predecessors'. Trump lit into former Secretary of State John Kerry and suggested that he and Barack Obama put the country on the path the nuclear war.

Kerry was the 'worst negotiator' and 'he should have left' talks with Iran about its nuclear program when he couldn't get a better deal, Trump said.

Talking about himself, Trump reminded that 'everybody said this guy's going to get us into nuclear war.'

'Let me tell you. The nuclear war would have happened if you had weak people. We had weak people,' he said.

Trump is due to meet with Kim in the next month or so. He said Thursday that the North Koreans want the conversation to happen as soon as possible.

'So it could be that I walk out quickly, with respect,' he said. 'But it could be that the meeting doesn't even take place, who knows.'

On Tuesday Trump said that North Korea's tyrant 'has been very open, and I think very honorable' in the lead-up to nuclear talks.

Pompeo attends Trump's first state dinner on Tuesday evening with his wife Susan. The CIA director is likely to be confirmed today to secretary of state

In an Oval Office meeting with the French president, Trump praised Kim for holding up his end of an arrangement to freeze nuclear testing while a complete end to the program is negotiated.

At a news conference later in the day, a reporter pointed out that Kim is an oppressive dictator accused of starving his people and killing members of his own family.

'I hope that we will be able to deal in a very open and honorable fashion with North Korea,' Trump replied. 'A lot is happening. And I think it's going to be very positive.'

Trump was primarily meeting with Emmanuel Macron to talk about Iran and Syria when it happened. The United States' trade relationship with the European Union was also up for discussion.

The president segued from a comment about trade talks with South Korea to the dispute with Kim's regime.

'We are going to be having a meeting with Kim Jong-un, and that will be very soon. We have been told directly that they would like to have the meeting as soon as possible,' he said. 'And we think that's a great thing for the world. That's a great thing for North Korea and South Korea and Japan and France and everybody.'

Last week Trump lifted the lid on a secret visit that Pompeo made to North Korea to see Kim.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that North Korean tyrant 'has been very open and I think very honorable' in the lead-up to nuclear talks

He said Tuesday that the the U.S. government had to this point had 'very good discussions' with North Korea since it began engaging in direct talks.

'Kim Jong-un, he really has been very open and I think very honorable from everything we're seeing,' he said of the man he used to taunt with the nickname 'Little Rocket Man' and the size of his nuclear button.

Trump said 'a lot of promises have been made by North Korea over the years,' however he has reason to believe that Kim, a 33-year-old dictator who took over from is father in 2011, is serious about wanting to make a deal.

'We have been very, very tough on maximum pressure. We have been very tough on, as you know, trade. We've been very, very tough at the border. Sanctions have been the toughest we've ever imposed on any country,' he said. 'And we think it will be a great thing for North Korea and it will be a great thing for the world. So we'll see where that all goes.'

Trump reiterated that he would 'leave the table' if the discussions with Kim are not productive -- a threat he first made during a summit with Japan's prime minister in Florida last week.

'Maybe it will be wonderful and maybe it won't. And if it's not going to be fair and reasonable and good, I will, unlike past administrations, I will leave the table,' he stated. 'But I think we have a chance of doing something very special with respect to North Korea. Good for them, good for us, good for everybody.'

Trump was primarily meeting with Emmanuel Macron today to talk about Iran and Syria. He brought up North Korea during an Oval Office meeting, raising eyebrows and bringing about a request for clarification at a joint news conference a few hours later

At the Tuesday afternoon presser, Trump lamented the fact that he was having to build talks from the floor up with North Korea at all when he has other matters like the United States' massive trade imbalance with China to deal with on top of it.

'With that being said, I think we're doing very well. Meetings are being set up. And I want to see denuclearization of North Korea,' he said. 'A lot of concessions have already been made. We have made no concessions, despite some of the media saying that I've made concessions.'

The only concession Trump said he is making is holding a meeting with Kim in the first place.

'And I'm sure that a lot of other people would have liked to have had the position we're having,' he stated.