North Korea’s ex-spy chief heads to New York for summit talks after stopover in China
Kim Yong-chol would be the most senior North Korean official to step onto US soil since Vice-Marshall Jo Myong-rok met President Bill Clinton in 2000
North Korea’s former spy chief was headed to the United States and a top aide to leader Kim Jong-un arrived in Singapore on Tuesday, the latest indications that the on-again-off-again summit with US President Donald Trump was going ahead.
“We have put a great team together for our talks with North Korea. Meetings are currently taking place concerning Summit, and more. Kim Young Chol, the vice-chairman of North Korea, heading now to New York. Solid response to my letter, thank you!” Trump said in a Twitter post Tuesday.
Kim Yong-chol, vice-chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, was expected to fly to the United States on Wednesday after speaking to Chinese officials in Beijing, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said, citing an unidentified source.
Kim Yong-chol, who held talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang earlier this month, is believed to be leading arrangements for the planned summit between Trump and Kim Jong-un.
Trump cancelled the summit in a sharply worded letter to the North Korean leader last Thursday before quickly reviving hopes of holding it as originally scheduled in Singapore on June 12.