WASHINGTON — The United States aspires to have North Korea as a “close partner” and not an enemy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, noting that the U.S. has often in history become good friends with former adversaries.
Pompeo said he had told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of that hope during his brief visit to Pyongyang earlier this week, during which he finalized details of the June 12 summit between Kim and President Donald Trump and secured the release of three Americans imprisoned in the country.
He said his talks with Kim on Wednesday had been “warm,” ‘’constructive” and “good” and that he made clear that if North Korea gets rid of its nuclear weapons in a permanent and verifiable way, the U.S. is willing to help the impoverished nation boost its economy and living standards to levels like those in prosperous South Korea.
“We had good conversations about the histories of our two nations, the challenges that we have had between us,” Pompeo told reporters at a news conference Friday with South Korea’s visiting foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha. “We talked about the fact that America has often in history had adversaries who we are now close partners with and our hope that we could achieve the same with respect to North Korea.” (AP)