Foreign Minister Taro Kono is planning to visit the United States early next month to discuss North Korea policy with his incoming counterpart, Mike Pompeo, according to Japanese government sources.
Kono hopes to use the meeting to quickly get up to speed on the policy positions of incoming Secretary of State Pompeo, ahead of a first-ever summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that is expected to take place by early June.
Currently the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, Pompeo is expected to play a central role in any forthcoming negotiations between the United States and North Korea, having met Kim in Pyongyang in recent weeks on Trump's behalf.