Transcript for Pompeo says it would be 'tragic' to let the US-North Korea summit 'go to waste'

Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which you could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity got a ways. I've been very clear the president drop in the United States objective. It's very consistent and well out. The complete. Verifiable and irreversible the nuclear issue. Of the Korean Peninsula present troubles also made it clear that Kim Jung and he nuclear I there's a brighter path for North Korea. We envision a strong connected and secure prosperous North Korea that maintains its cultural heritage. But is integrated into the community of nations that these talks are successful it will truly be distort. It will take bold leadership from chairman Kim Jon U if we are able to seize this once and a lifetime opportunity. To change the course. For the world. President trump and I believe chairman Kim is the kind of leader who can make those kinds of decisions. And that the coming weeks and months. We will have the opportunity to test whether or not this is the case if north Koreans are prepared in fact. Two. If we convinced convince them of that that in fact there security is greater. That in fact the real threat to their security is the continued holding on to of that nuclear wait nuclear weapons program. And now congress without lots of conversations around the true test of course comes when we actually achieve this. But many conversations have been had about how we might perceive what that hat might be forward so that we can achieve both the denuclearization that the world that demands. Of North Korea. And the security assurances that would be. Required for them to allow us to achieve that the conditions are putting president trump and chairman Kim Jong-un a place where we think there could be real progress made. By the two of the meeting it does no good if we're in a place where we don't think there's real opportunity to place them together. We've made real progress towards that the last 72 hours and or what's following this minute by minute hour by hour this is going to be a process. That will take days and weeks to work our way through there will be tough moments there will be difficult times I've had some difficult conversations with them as well. They've given right back to me to. There is that decades to this challenge and so 11 not out to be either surprised. Or frightened or deterred. By moments where it looks like there are challenges typical things the campers bridged our mission is to bridge them so that we can achieve this story.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.