Pompeo tells CNN's Jake Tapper that he is 'very hopeful' ahead of Trump-Kim summit

(Image credit: CNN/screen shot)

last updated 25 February 2019

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday's edition of State of the Union that while North Korea remains a nuclear threat at this juncture, he is "very hopeful that we'll make a substantial step towards achieving" full denuclearization.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Pompeo also told Tapper that the "core economic sanctions" placed upon North Korea will remain in place until the country fully eliminates its nuclear arsenal, but he did add that loosening some other unspecified sanctions is a possibility if the summit results "in a substantial step" toward denuclearization. "We could certainly provide an outlet which would demonstrate our commitment to the process, as well," he said.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.