Pompeo to meet DPRK counterpart in New York Thursday

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US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet his Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) counterpart Kim Yong Chol in New York on Thursday, the State Department said.

They "will discuss making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement, including achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization," a statement said.

"The Secretary and Vice Chairman Kim will discuss making progress on all four pillars of the Singapore Summit joint statement, including achieving the final, fully verified denuclearization of the DPRK," it added.

Kim Yong Chol is a general, a former top intelligence chief and right-hand man to the DPRK leader.

He visited the White House in the diplomatic run-up to the Singapore summit and has been Pompeo's chief interlocutor in the months since.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un (L) and US President Donald Trump hold a signing ceremony at Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore, June 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

The meeting came with the two sides at loggerheads nearly five months after the summit, in which US President Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un pledged to work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Little progress

But the progress has fallen well short of the promise of the summit, with Washington pushing to maintain sanctions against the DPRK until its "final, fully verified denuclearization," and Pyongyang condemning US demands as "gangster-like."

Last week, DPRK's foreign ministry even warned that Pyongyang will "seriously" consider reviving its nuclear weapons program unless US sanctions are lifted.

In announcing the meeting with Kim Jong Chol on Sunday, Pompeo said he expected to "make some real progress" laying the groundwork for the second summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un.

In mid-October, Pompeo evoked the possibility of a second summit, preceded by talks with Kim Yong Chol.

"We're working on finding dates and times and places that will work for each of the two leaders," Pompeo said at the time.

(With inputs from agencies)