Pompeo says confident U.S., N. Korea moving in right direction

NEW YORK, May 31 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Thursday that recent talks with North Korea produced "real progress" toward a fruitful summit between their leaders.

Pompeo held two days of meetings with a senior North Korean official in New York as both sides push to salvage a June 12 summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on dismantling the North's nuclear weapons program.

"Through these series of meetings, I'm confident we're moving in the right direction," he said at a news conference. "The proposed summit offers a historic opening for President Trump and Chairman Kim to boldly lead the United States and the DPRK into an era of peace, prosperity and security."

DPRK is an acronym for the North's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

hague@yna.co.kr
(END)