North Korean envoy has a letter from Kim Jong Un he plans to hand-deliver to Trump
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo emerged from a shorter-than-expected meeting Thursday morning with North Korean official Kim Yong Chol bearing a cautiously optimistic message about the speculative June 12 summit between President Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un. "I am confident we are moving in the right direction," he said at a press conference in New York. "Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship, and it would be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste." He also confirmed that Kim is bearing a letter to Trump from Kim Jong Un that he plans to deliver in person on Friday.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said late Thursday that the White House is still working out the details of the meeting, and it wasn't clear if Trump would welcome Kim Yong Chol in the Oval Office. The letter's contents are unknown, but the speculation is that it is aimed at reviving the June 12 summit. Kim is the highest-ranking North Korean official to visit the U.S. since Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok traveled to Washington in 2000 to meet with President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, trying to set up a summit between Clinton and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Il that never materialized. Jo also brought Clinton a letter from Kim Jong Il, the late father of Kim Jong Un.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Starbucks workers are planning their ‘biggest strike’ everThe Explainer The union said 92% of its members voted to strike
-
‘These wouldn’t be playgrounds for billionaires’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The 5 best nuclear war movies of all timeThe Week Recommends ‘A House of Dynamite’ reanimates a dormant cinematic genre for our new age of atomic insecurity
-
Has Zohran Mamdani shown the Democrats how to win again?Today’s Big Question New York City mayoral election touted as victory for left-wing populists but moderate centrist wins elsewhere present more complex path for Democratic Party
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
