After Trump-Kim summit, US state secy Pompeo to visit S Korea

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who accompanied US President Donald Trump during the latter's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Tuesday, June 12, will pay a visit to South Korea late on Wednesday, June 13, reports from China and South Korea said. He will personally brief South Korean President Moon Jae-in about the outcome of the Trump-Kim talk, Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae officially informed.

It also said that Moon was briefed by Trump himself over the telephone for 20 minutes on Tuesday hours after the summit concluded.

Pompeo, who made two visits to North Korea in April and May to lay the path leading to the historic summit in Singapore, was also set to meet his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha, the country's foreign ministry and local media reported.

Pompeo and Kang were also set to hold a trilateral meeting featuring their Japanese counterpart besides having talks between themselves, in Seoul on Thursday, June 14, Xinhua reported. They will hold a joint press conference after the conclusion of their talks.

It will be Pompeo's first visit to South Korea after taking over the reins as the secretary of state.

Trump expressed his desire to withdraw American troops from South Korea some time in the future besides pledging to stop the expensive war games with South Korea in the Korean Peninsula. These could constitute what the joint declaration signed by Trump and Kim as the "security guarantees" of Pyongyang. However, it needs to be seen how the US's allies in the region - South Korea and Japan - respond to the idea for they are dependent on Washington for their own securities.

Denuclearisation a tough word

Denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula has been a complicated issue since North Korea and the West have failed to arrive at a consensus on what exactly forms the idea. The West has sought complete de-armament from the North but the North has also demanded removal of US troops from the South. Japan is not in favour of removing the troops which could, according to Tokyo, turn Pyongyang even more reckless towards its neighbours.

'No trilateral meeting between two Koreas and US now'

Singapore's Straits Times also cited Cheong Wa Dae as saying that there was no immediate plans for three-way talks between North and South Korea and the US to officially terminate the Korean War or implement other pacts made between the US and North Korea.

There was no meeting scheduled between Kim and Moon as well, it was informed.