Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is currently traveling to North Korea for another round of diplomatic talks with officials there ahead of the planned summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump.
Trump announced the news after announcing his decision to end the Iran deal.
“At this very moment, Secretary Pompeo is on his way to North Korea in preparation for my upcoming meeting with Kim Jong-un,” Trump said. “Plans are being made, relationships are building. Hopefully, a deal will happen.”
Administration officials are hopeful that Pompeo can secure the release of American citizens detained by North Korea as part of the negotiations.
Pompeo also traveled to North Korea in April to meet with Jong-un, before he was confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State.
“We’ll see how it all works out. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t,” Trump told reporters after his speech. “But it can be a great thing for North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the entire world. We hope it all works out.”
The president’s national security advisor John Bolton told reporters after Trump’s speech that the president was committed to making a tough deal with North Korea to denuclearize the region.