--- description: North Korea's top nuclear negotiator is in Washington for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and could meet with President Trump title: North Korea's Envoy Arrives in U.S. for Talks With Pompeo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1eb6aa167bc257c4/6989438ce76ad2eee7633fff/gettyimages-993230960.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [North Korea](/tag/north-korea/) ## North Korea Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Korea's Leading Envoy Has Arrived in the U.S. to Meet Pompeo — and Maybe Trump by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2019 4:09 AM CUT  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Kim Yong Chol (L), North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, at Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 7, 2018. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) and Kim Yong Chol (L), North Korean senior ruling party official and former intelligence chief, at Park Hwa Guest House in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 7, 2018.Andrew Harnik—AFP/Getty Images by [Eli Meixler](/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 18, 2019 4:09 AM CUT North Korea’s lead denuclearization negotiator [arrived in Washington](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa/north-korea-envoy-in-u-s-for-talks-with-pompeo-possibly-trump-idUSKCN1PB08K?il=0 "undefined") Thursday for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Reuters reports, with the possibility of also meeting with President Donald Trump. [Kim Yong Chol](http://time.com/5292956/kim-yong-chol-north-korea/ "undefined"), North Korea’s former spy chief and top envoy, [is visiting the U.S.](http://time.com/5505386/north-korea-kim-yong-chol-talks-second-summit/ "undefined") as the two countries move closer to [arranging a second summit](http://time.com/5498773/north-korea-second-summit-donald-trump/ "undefined") between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump and Kim [met in Singapore](http://time.com/5309069/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-meet-summit/ "undefined") in June, the first ever conference between sitting leaders of the U.S. and North Korea. They signed a [vague framework](http://time.com/5309425/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-summit-document-full-text/ "undefined") pledging to work toward the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” but [little headway](http://time.com/5485147/north-korea-denuclearize-u-s-first/ "undefined") has been made since on curtailing North Korea’s weapons programs. Kim Yong Chol’s visit could mark a minor breakthrough in the diplomatic impasse. The North Korean envoy [last visited the U.S.](http://time.com/5293688/donald-trump-kim-yong-chol-north-korea-summit/ "undefined") in June, ahead of the first summit. Pompeo had planned to travel to Pyongyang in November, but that mission was [scrapped](http://time.com/5378821/north-korea-mike-pompeo-double-dealing/ "undefined") after Trump insisted that North Korea had not made “sufficient progress” toward denuclearization. The visit this week also comes as Trump announced a [new missile defense strategy](http://time.com/5506284/donald-trump-nuclear-weapons-missile-defense/ "undefined") Wednesday that identified North Korea as an ongoing military threat. But Kim Jong Un signaled optimism for the stalled talks in his [annual New Year’s address](http://time.com/5491169/kim-talks-trump-north-korea-nuclear-summit/ "undefined") earlier this month, reiterating his willingness to meet Trump again and predicting that relations between the two adversaries could “advance at a fast and excellent pace.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5506617/north-korea-kim-yong-chol-talks-washington/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5506617/north-korea-kim-yong-chol-talks-washington/"},"headline":"North Korea's Leading Envoy Has Arrived in the U.S. to Meet Pompeo — and Maybe Trump","datePublished":"2019-01-18T04:09:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T22:32:22.553Z","description":"North Korea's top nuclear negotiator is in Washington for talks with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and could meet with President Trump","url":"https://time.com/5506617/north-korea-kim-yong-chol-talks-washington/","keywords":["North Korea","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1eb6aa167bc257c4/6989438ce76ad2eee7633fff/gettyimages-993230960.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":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1eb6aa167bc257c4/6989438ce76ad2eee7633fff/gettyimages-993230960.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NKOREA-US-NUCLEAR-DIPLOMACY","caption":"NKOREA-US-NUCLEAR-DIPLOMACY","creditText":"Andrew Harnik—AFP/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/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/north-korea/","name":"North Korea"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5506617/north-korea-kim-yong-chol-talks-washington/","name":"North Korea's Leading Envoy Has Arrived in the U.S. to Meet Pompeo — and Maybe Trump"}}]}] ```