Report: CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a secret trip to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Over Easter weekend, CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a covert visit to North Korea on behalf of President Trump and met with Kim Jong Un, two people with direct knowledge of the trip told The Washington Post.

Pompeo's top-secret visit with the North Korean leader was an effort to lay the groundwork for a summit between Trump and Kim regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons program, the Post reports. The meeting was held soon after Trump nominated Pompeo to be secretary of state, replacing Rex Tillerson, and about a week later, U.S. officials said the government had directly confirmed that Kim was willing to discuss possible denuclearization.

Trump hinted on Tuesday that something major had happened, telling reporters the U.S. and North Korea held direct talks "at extremely high levels." He also said he'd like to meet with Kim by early June, and there are five locations — none in the United States — under consideration to host the summit. Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in are set to meet next week, and Trump said "they do have my blessing to discuss the end of the war." North and South Korea are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.