Kim’s right-hand man due in US this week

ANKARA, 15 Jan 2019 [Fik/News Sources]: Senior officials from the U.S. and North Korea are meeting in Washington sometime later this week, South Korean media reported on Tuesday.

Kim Yong-chol, considered the right-hand man of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is traveling to Washington to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

No official announcement has been made yet either by Pyongyang or Washington. 

According to a report published by The Chosunilbo in Seoul, the two sides – who have been engaged in bilateral negotiations since last year’s historic Trump-Kim summit – may discuss “the agenda and venue of Kim's next summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.”

Pompeo and Yong-chol may meet either on Jan. 17 or 18, the report added. Pompeo returned home late Monday night from his trip to the Middle East. 

Reports added that Trump had sent a personal letter to the North's leader and that a proposed second Trump-Kim meeting is aimed for next month. 

Washington and Seoul have been discussing potential U.S. measures to reciprocate North Korea’s possible steps toward denuclearization, such as dismantling the Yongbyon main nuclear complex or intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) aimed at the U.S., South Korean officials told Reuters. 

In a recent interview, Pompeo said: “Reducing the threat from North Korea, whether that's by our success to date in stopping their missile testing, stopping their nuclear testing -- those are the important elements.”