12 May 2018•Update: 13 May 2018
By Safvan Allahverdi
WASHINGTON
The U.S. will help North Korea with its economy if Pyongyang gets rid of its nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.
Pompeo, who returned from a visit to North Korea a day ago ahead of a highly anticipated summit next month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, noted that he had "substantive" conversations with Kim.
“If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on par with our South Korean friends,” Pompeo said at a joint news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha.
A day earlier, Trump announced that his meeting with Kim will be held on June 12 in Singapore.
Trump said on Twitter that both leaders will try to make the historic meeting "a very special moment for World Peace".
Echoing Trump, Pompeo said: "We look forward to our continued preparations with the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) to make the summit in Singapore on June 12th a true success for the American and Korean people and for the world."
Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul as well as the North and the U.S. have improved markedly as the U.S. continues to seek denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and Kim said his country would end its nuclear program and dismantle the related facilities.
