President Trump said Thursday that his nominee to be the next secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, wasn’t expected to meet with Kim Jong Un when he traveled to North Korea in April.
“Mike Pompeo did go there. He wasn’t supposed to meet with Kim Jong Un but he did. He, you know, they arranged actually while he was there to say hello. We have incredible pictures of the two talking and meeting, which I would love to release if we can,” Trump told Fox News Thursday morning.
Trump said the meeting was significant in negotiations with North Korea, South Korea, and the U.S. because it confirmed the parties were willing to come to the table and make deals.
“It was more than hello. They got along. They were with each other more than an hour. They spoke. He also spoke with his counterparts in North Korea. They had a great meeting. He then left. It was very, very secret. It was very quiet,” Trump added.
Trump also slammed NBC’s “Meet the Press” host Chuck Todd for proposing the administration is giving too much in return to North Korea in return for its denuclearization.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute, just the opposite. I haven’t given up anything. I haven’t even talked about it,'” Trump said. “They’ve given up denuclearization, testing, research. They’re gonna close up different sites. I’m saying to myself, ‘Wait a minute, all of these things he’s given up.’ We haven’t even really that much asked him, but we would have asked him but they gave it up before I ask.”
A summit between the U.S. and South Korea will start Friday.
Trump also said the U.S. has narrowed a meeting between Kim and Trump down to five locations and up to four dates.
