US prisoners’ release sets stage for a successful Trump-Kim meet: Pompeo

Release of three American nationals by North Korea early this week has set the conditions for a successful United States-North Korea summit in Singapore next month, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday.

“The release of these three citizens helps set the conditions for a successful meeting between President Trump and Chairman Kim. We look forward to our continued preparations with the DPRK to make the summit in Singapore on June 12 a true success for the American and Korean people and for the world,” he told reporters.

At the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the US State Department, Mr. Pompeo held an extensive discussion with his South Korea counterpart Kang Kyung-wha on the preparations for the June 12 meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim. They also talked about Mr. Pompeo’s visit to Pyongyang and the meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea last month.

Denuclearisation talk encouraging’
“The US is encouraged by President Moon and Chairman Kim’s stated goal of complete denuclearisation in the Panmunjom declaration,” Mr. Pompeo said, adding that “Foreign Minister Kang and I discussed the summit, my trip to North Korea, and the bold step President Trump is about to take when he meets with Chairman Kim.”

“If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearise, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on the par with our South Korean friends. The United States looks forward to continued close cooperation with our South Korean allies on this issue and many others,” he told reporters at a joint news conference with Mr. Kang.

Congratulating Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Trump for the successful release of the three US citizens, all Korean-Americans, from North Korea, Mr. Kang said this was a “promising” signal for the upcoming US-North Korea summit.

‘Historic opportunity’
“We agreed that the summit would be a historic opportunity for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and securing enduring peace on the Korean Peninsula. We reaffirmed that our goal is to achieve the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula,” he said.

At the White House, presidential spokesperson Sarah Sanders told reporters that Mr. Trump is going into the summit “with eyes wide open” as he said had many times, and “we’ll see” what happens.

“But this is certainly a process that has moved in the right direction. We’ve seen some signs of goodwill from North Korea just this week, with the three Americans brought back home; also the stopping of the ballistic missiles tests; them stopping with their research and development on their nuclear program. And we’re going to continue to push for complete and total denuclearisation. We’re also going to continue maximum pressure until we see that happen,” she said.

As of now, Ms. Sanders said, there was no plan for the South Koreans to be present at the Singapore summit. The South Korean President is slated to come to the White House for a meeting with Mr. Trump on May 22.

Bracing for the summit
This, Mr. Kang said, would prepare for the June 12 summit. “Pompeo and I agreed the next few weeks will be critical, requiring air-tight coordination between our two countries,” he added.

“The close communication and trust between presidents Trump and Moon have been the driving force that has brought us to this point of breakthrough for the denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula. So their meeting on the 22nd will be instrumental in preparing for a successful US-North Korea summit,” he said.