Trump: Pompeo en Route With 3 Americans Detained in North Korea

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo testifies before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. May 11, 2017. (Photo: Reuters)

President Donald Trump said on Twitter that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is en route from North Korea with 3 American detainees. It was Mr. Pompeo’s second known visit to the country ahead of a historic meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un.

He said the detainees are in “good health” and that the date and time of the highly-anticipated meeting with Kim have now been agreed upon. He revealed Mr. Pompeo’s trip shortly after announcing his plan to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

“I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting,” he tweeted. “They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.”

I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health. Also, good meeting with Kim Jong Un. Date & Place set.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018

“Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning,” he also tweeted. “I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!”

Secretary Pompeo and his “guests” will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 9, 2018

The Americans were all detained recently, with one being sentenced in 2016.

Kim Dong Chul, a South Korea-born U.S. citizen and former Virginia resident, was sentenced in April 2016 to 10 years hard labor in prison after being convicted of espionage. He reportedly ran a trade and hotel service company in Rason, a special economic zone on North Korea’s border with Russia.

Tony Kim was detained at Pyongyang’s airport in April 2017. Pyongyang accused him of “hostile acts” against the communist regime. He taught accounting at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.

Kim Hak Song, an ethnic Korean born in China, was also detained in May 2017 for “hostile acts.” He worked in agricultural development at an experimental farm run by the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, which was founded in 2010 with donations from Christian groups.

Mr. Pompeo, who was nominated by President Trump to replace Rex Tillerson, met with Kim during Easter weekend to gauge the potential for a summit with South Korea and the United States (US).

If the summit is held, it would be the first-ever between the U.S. and North Korea after more than six decades of hostility. The North and South remain in a technical state of war. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Kim announced last month that he has suspended Pyongyang’s nuclear testing program, including a freeze on intercontinental ballistic missile tests and closing a nuclear site. The extraordinary development came after North Korea announced they dropped demands for a freeze to U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises and the withdrawal of U.S. troops as preconditions for talks.

The decision handed the Trump Administration an enormous foreign policy victory, as did the meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in. The two men pledged after another historic meeting in late April to work for the “complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.”

Kim became the first North Korean leader since the Korean War to step over the border and set foot in South Korea. The first summit in more than a decade resulted in an agreement to work with the U.S. and China to declare an official end to the 1950s Korean war, and seek an agreement to establish “permanent” and “solid” peace.

President Moon has also agreed to visit Pyongyang later this year. In a show of good faith, the two leaders agreed to open a liaison office, to stop broadcasting propaganda, to stop conducting leaflet drops along the border and to allow families divided by the DMZ to meet.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) is a 160-mile (260-km) long, 2.5-mile (4-km) wide strip of land created in the 1953 armistice to serve as a buffer between the South and North.