In an interview with ABC News, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo specifically underscored that during his recent meeting with the North Korean leader, he "had a mission to begin to lay the groundwork for [US] President Trump's meeting with Kim Jong-un."
Pompeo said that he met with Kim under clear instructions from Trump to discuss a way to verify if the Korean Peninsula could be denuclearized, adding that the US administration has its "eyes wide open."
READ MORE: North Korea 'Changed the Game': 'New Paradigm' Opened for US, Korean Peninsula
"We know the history. We know the risks. We’re going to be very different. We’re going to negotiate in a different way than has been done before.We’re going to require those steps – we use the word irreversible with great intention. We’re going to require those steps that demonstrate that denuclearization is going to be achieved," Pompeo pointed out.
Meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom earlier this week, Kim Jong-un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in pledged to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula and to formally end the Korean War.
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Earlier, Trump confirmed that talks between the United States and North Korea were taking place at a "very high level," just hours before current CIA Director and newly nominated US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had had a private meeting with Kim Jong-un.