U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that the United States was ready to begin a "fundamentally different" process in working with North Korea to find an outcome that "benefits both countries" as top officials from the two sides worked furiously to bridge apparent gaps just hours ahead of a landmark meeting between leaders Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un.
As both sides worked to finalize preparations for the unprecedented summit — the first-ever between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader — Pompeo told a televised news briefing that Washington was prepared to offer security assurances that would be “different, unique than what Americans have been willing to provide previously” if the country relinquishes its nuclear arsenal. He didn’t say how they would differ from the past.
Pompeo said the pre-summit talks were "moving quite rapidly" and that he believed "they will come to their logical conclusion even more quickly than we anticipated."