North Korean delegation headed by former spy chief meets with Trump at the White House

Donald Trump received a delegation of North Korean officials on Friday that were sent to Washington to hand-deliver a letter from Kim Jong-un to the U.S. president.

Former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol joined a scheduled meeting in the Oval Office with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the president this afternoon after entering the White House through the South Lawn.

Trump signaled on Thursday that he still expects to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un on June 12 in Singapore, saying he’s ‘hopeful’ that the summit will happen as scheduled.

He also confirmed that a North Korean delegation would ‘probably’ be coming to Washington on Friday to hand-deliver a letter from the North Korean dictator.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that former North Korean spy chief Kim Yong Chol would deliver the letter.

The president said he didn’t know what was in the letter but ‘it’ll be very positive.’ He said the delegation ‘will probably be coming down’ Friday to deliver it.

Donald Trump received a delegation of North Korean officials on Friday that were sent to Washington to hand-deliver a letter from Kim Jong-un to the U.S. president

President Donald Trump said before boarding Air Force One that he might have to meet more than once with Kim Jong-un

President Donald Trump said before boarding Air Force One that he might have to meet more than once with Kim Jong-un

Trump tweeted that his administration is having good meetings with reprresentatives of North Korea

Trump tweeted that his administration is having good meetings with reprresentatives of North Korea

Trump told Reuters: ‘I’d like to see a total denuclearisation in as quick a period of time as is practicable.’ 

‘You’re talking about machinery, you’re talking about things that can’t necessarily happen immediately but they can happen in as rapid a fashion as they can happen. That’s what I want to happen,’ he said.

But he warned at the same time that just one sit-down with the communist country may not be enough to ensure it doesn’t pose a nuclear threat. 

The two leaders are expected to sit down to negotiate the terms of North Korea’s withdrawal from an effort to build a nuclear weapon that could reach the United States.

Trump tweeted that the U.S. had been engaging in ‘very good meetings with North Korea.’ 

He also said as he left Joint Base Andrews for Texas that he expects to receive a formal letter on Friday from Kim, carried by a delegation sent to Washington.

The president is expected to meet June 12 with dictator Kim Jong-un in Singapore, and he said Thursday that the summit will 'hopefully' happen as scheduled

The president is expected to meet June 12 with dictator Kim Jong-un in Singapore, and he said Thursday that the summit will ‘hopefully’ happen as scheduled

Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that he expects a delegation from the hermit kingdom to carry a letter from Kim Jong-un to him on Friday

Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that he expects a delegation from the hermit kingdom to carry a letter from Kim Jong-un to him on Friday

‘I look forward to seeing what’s in the letter,’ Trump said on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One.

‘I think it will be very positive. The meetings have been very positive,’ he said of talks that have proceeded in advance of the expected leader-to-leader discussion.

‘Hopefully we will have a meeting on the 12th. That’s going along very well,’ he told reporters. 

But the president cautioned against expecting too much from a single summit meeting with the hermit kingdom’s despot.

North and South Korea on Friday resumed senior-level peace talks Seoul sees as an important step in building trust with Pyongyang amid the U.S.-led diplomatic push to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons

North and South Korea on Friday resumed senior-level peace talks Seoul sees as an important step in building trust with Pyongyang amid the U.S.-led diplomatic push to persuade the North to give up its nuclear weapons

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Ri Son Gwon during their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, on Friday

South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon shakes hands with his North Korean counterpart Ri Son Gwon during their meeting at the truce village of Panmunjom, South Korea, on Friday

Inter-Korea dialogue have increased since President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met on April 27

Inter-Korea dialogue have increased since President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met on April 27

Head of the North Korean delegation Ri Son-Gwon (C) is pictured arriving at the DMZ for the meeting with South Korea on Friday

Head of the North Korean delegation Ri Son-Gwon (C) is pictured arriving at the DMZ for the meeting with South Korea on Friday

‘I want it to be meaningful. It doesn’t mean it gets all done at one meeting. Maybe a second and third and maybe we’ll have none,’ he said. 

‘It’s in good hands. That I can tell you.’

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday that Trump is expecting Kim Yong Chol to visit the White House Friday to deliver a sealed letter from Kim Jong-Un.

Gidley wasn’t sure who else would be accompanying him and hasn’t gotten any indication about what the letter might say.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had a working dinner on Wednesday in New York City with top North Korean aide Kim Yong-chol.

The pair dined on ‘steak, corn, and cheese,’ according to the secretary of state.

North Korea Vice-Chairman Kim Yong-chol met Thursday in New York City with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

North Korea Vice-Chairman Kim Yong-chol met Thursday in New York City with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Trump has played his cards close to the vest as June 12 approaches but has seemed largely optimistic about pulling off a meeting that few thought was possible

Trump has played his cards close to the vest as June 12 approaches but has seemed largely optimistic about pulling off a meeting that few thought was possible

The meeting took place as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Pyongyang for talks with his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong-ho.

Kim Yong-chol is the most senior North Korean official to visit the United States since 2000, when Vice Marshal Jo Myong Rok traveled to Washington to meet with then-President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office.

He is conducting one of three sets of parallel talks in the U.S. aimed at salvaging the nuclear summit.



Read more at DailyMail.co.uk