--- title: CIA Chief: White House Has 'Eyes Wide Open' On North Korea description: CIA director Mike Pompeo has defended the Trump administration's decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un canonical: https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-12T04:47:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T19:36:39.636Z article:section: Politics og:title: U.S. Spy Chief Mike Pompeo Defends Talks With Kim Jong Un og:description: Last week, Trump accepted an invitation to meet with the North Korean leader og:url: https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf99df85611eec86/69892a6ffb4eac6184895fa9/gettyimages-917894110.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5372 og:image:height: 3022 og:image:alt: Senate Intelligence Committee Holds Hearing On Worldwide Threats With CIA And FBI Directors og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: U.S. Spy Chief Mike Pompeo Defends Talks With Kim Jong Un twitter:description: Last week, Trump accepted an invitation to meet with the North Korean leader twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf99df85611eec86/69892a6ffb4eac6184895fa9/gettyimages-917894110.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # CIA Director Says President Trump's Eyes Are 'Wide Open' on Talks With Kim Jong Un > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=23e78360-bbc3-45ee-9d89-242fa840c974&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: South Korea: North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Trump to Meet 'By May' [Watch (HLS stream): South Korea: North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Trump to Meet 'By May'](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yxFQwuDH.m3u8) (2:14)  _Published 2018-03-09. South Korea’s national security director says President Donald Trump has decided he will meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “by May.”_ by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Mar 12, 2018 4:47 AM UTC  Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 13, 2018. Mike Pompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 13, 2018. Zach Gibson—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Mar 12, 2018 4:47 AM UTC CIA director Mike Pompeo has defended the Trump administration’s decision to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying that the President is fully aware of the risks involved. [Speaking](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cias-pompeo-on-north-korea-talks-this-administration-has-its-eyes-wide-open/) on CBS’s “Face the Nation” Sunday, Pompeo said the administration has its “eyes wide open” with regards to the regime’s history of failing to comply with previous agreements. He also credited President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose greater pressure on North Korea with having “a real impact.” “This administration has its eyes wide open and the whole time this conversation takes place, the pressure will continue to mount on North Korea,” [Pompeo said](http://www.focus-fen.net/opinion/2018/03/11/5036/cia-director-mike-pompeo-on-face-the-nation.html). “We’ve gotten more than any previous administration — an agreement to not continue testing nuclear weapons and their missile program,” he added. “That’s critical.” In a separate interview on “Fox News Sunday,” the CIA director said the summit was not for show. “President Trump isn’t doing this for theater. He’s going to solve a problem,” Pompeo said. Last week, Trump [accepted an invitation](http://time.com/5192447/south-korea-north-koreas-kim-jong-un-and-president-trump-to-meet-by-may/?xid=homepage) delivered via a South Korean envoy to meet with Kim before May this year. South Korean national security director, Chung Eui-yong, said that North Korea had agreed to [pause its nuclear weapons](http://time.com/5187419/north-korea-halt-nuclear-tests-us-talks/) and missile testing programs in the run-up to the talks. The summit [would be the first](http://time.com/5192579/trump-meets-kim-jong-un-north-korea/) between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader. Kim also agreed to discuss the [denuclearization](http://time.com/5192570/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-talks-progress/) of the Korean Peninsula at the unprecedented meeting. The country’s weapons programs has been the source of [heightened tensions](http://time.com/5193008/north-korea-breakthrough-donald-trump-kim-jong-un/) over the past year that at times saw Trump and Kim [trade threats](http://time.com/4949338/donald-trump-north-korea-un/?xid=homepage) of annihilation. > [](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/971915531346436096) Pompeo and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, who also appeared on network talk shows Sunday, vowed that the U.S. would [maintain pressure](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-missiles/not-just-theater-u-s-officials-defend-trump-kim-meeting-idUSKCN1GN0J3) on North Korea with economic sanctions ahead of the talks, while military exercises would also go ahead as planned, Reuters reports. The U.S. and South Korea have [delayed planned ](http://time.com/5088363/the-u-s-just-canceled-war-drills-off-the-korean-peninsula-during-the-olympics/)joint-military drills in an effort to deescalate tensions ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. ## Transcript Today, I had the privilege of briefing President Trump on my recent visit to Pyongyang, North Korea. I'd like to thank President Trump, the Vice President, and his wonderful national security team including my close friend General McMaster. I explained to President Trump That his leadership and his maximum pressure policy together with international solidarity brought us to this juncture. I expressed President Moon Jae- in's personal gratitude for President Trump's leadership. I told President Trump that now meeting. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he is committed to denuclearization. Kim pledged that North Korea will refrain from any further nuclear or missiles tests. He understands that the routine joint military exercises Between the Republic of Korea and the United States must continue. And he expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible. President Trump appreciated the briefing and said he would meet Kim Jong Un. By May to achieve permanent denuclearization. The republic of Korea along with the United States, Japan and our many partners around the world, remain fully and resolutely committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Along with President Trump, we are optimistic about continuing a diplomatic process to test for possibility of a peaceful resolution. The Republic of Korea, the United States and our partners Stand together in insisting that we not repeat the mistakes of the past, and that the pressure will continue until North Korea matches its words with concrete actions, thank you. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/"},"headline":"CIA Director Says President Trump's Eyes Are 'Wide Open' on Talks With Kim Jong Un","datePublished":"2018-03-12T04:47:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T19:36:39.636Z","description":"Pompeo said the administration has its \"eyes wide open\"","url":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/","keywords":["Foreign Policy","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf99df85611eec86/69892a6ffb4eac6184895fa9/gettyimages-917894110.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eli Meixler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdf99df85611eec86/69892a6ffb4eac6184895fa9/gettyimages-917894110.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Senate Intelligence Committee Holds Hearing On Worldwide Threats With CIA And FBI Directors","caption":"Senate Intelligence Committee Holds Hearing On Worldwide Threats With CIA And FBI Directors","creditText":"Zach Gibson—Bloomberg/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/foreign-policy/","name":"Foreign Policy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/","name":"CIA Director Says President Trump's Eyes Are 'Wide Open' on Talks With Kim Jong Un"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"South Korea: North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Trump to Meet 'By May'","description":"South Korea’s national security director says President Donald Trump has decided he will meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “by May.”","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/yxFQwuDH/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-03-09T00:40:37.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/yxFQwuDH.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/","duration":"PT2M14S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5195084/mike-pompeo-donald-trump-north-korea/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```