Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is traveling to North Korea

Newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is en route to North Korea, President Trump announced Tuesday, where he will seek to begin negotiating a denuclearization deal with North Korean officials.

It is Pompeo's second known trip to North Korea; he met with leader Kim Jong Un secretly in April while he was still serving as CIA director.

Pompeo's visit comes ahead of a highly anticipated summit between Trump and Kim, and amid rapidly thawing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. When asked by a reporter if three Americans being held prisoner in North Korea will be freed, Trump said: "We'll soon be finding out."

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