WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reportedly told North Korean officials on Monday that the United States will help the communist country with its economy if it is willing to dismantle its illegal nuclear weapons program.
China is currently North Korea’s biggest trade partner and the peninsula nation relies heavily on China for its economy.
This week, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed home the three Americans released by their North Korean captors after talks between the two countries. Kim Hak Song, Kim Dong Chul, and Kim Sang-Duk arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland around 3 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday. They arrived with Pompeo who was in North Korea to secure their release.
Pompeo reportedly said he had a “good” and “substantive” conversation with communist dictator Kim Jong-un during his visit to North Korea this week.
At the time this news broke, Pompeo was holding a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha. The two met to strategize ahead of a planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on May 22 in Washington, DC.
Breitbart News reported that “North Korea has told the White House that the country is open to discussing shutting down their illegal nuclear weapons program.”
Several hours after the arrival of the three Americans from North Korea, President Trump tweeted, “The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!”
Adelle Nazarian is a politics and national security reporter for Breitbart News. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.