Pompeo: Trump’s meeting with Kim ‘substantial step’ that ‘may not get everything done’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday underscored the Trump administration’s efforts to denuclearize North Korea, but acknowledged that the president may not accomplish that goal during this week’s summit with Kim Jong Un.

“There may have to be another summit. We may not get everything done this week. We hope we’ll make a substantial step along the way,” Pompeo said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Pompeo said while “our mission is clear,” it “is going to take time.” 

{mosads}The president first met with Kim last June in Singapore. While Trump hailed the event as an unmitigated success and declared North Korea was no longer a nuclear threat, critics noted that the summit produced no concrete commitments or timelines for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear arsenal. 

Pompeo said Sunday that the administration has made progress in some areas discussed during the first summit, and “less so on others.” He argued that negotiations with the North Koreans are complicated, and that the Trump administration has had more success than past leaders.

“We’ve built up the world’s coalition to communicate to Chairman Kim that now is the time, now is the moment, and I hope we’ll make real progress this this week,” Pompeo said.

The president will depart on Monday for the meetings in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he is expected to meet with Kim on Wednesday and Thursday.

Pompeo said the summit “might be one day” or “might be two days,” and left open the possibility that negotiations would require another meeting between the two leaders.

Trump has been optimistic heading into his second meeting with Kim. He has suggested North Korea could become an economic power if it abandoned its nuclear arsenal, and on Sunday morning said the two leaders “expect a continuation of the progress made at first Summit in Singapore.”

It’s unclear what specifics might come from this week’s meeting, as senior administration officials provided few answers during a call with reporters on what to expect.

The officials did indicate a priority for the summit is reaching an agreed definition of denuclearization, something that negotiators have yet to establish.