A flurry of diplomatic activity here on the Korean Peninsula ahead of talks between North Korea and the U.S.<br />Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is on his second trip to North Korea.<br />Unlike his first visit in early April, this one was made public by President Trump himself as he announced the end of the Iran deal on Tuesday.<br />For more, we connect to our unification ministry correspondent Oh Jung-hee.<br />Jung-hee, so Mike Pompeo is in Pyongyang again. What do we know so far about that? And when are we going to hear more about plans for the summit?<br /><br /> Hi, Mark.<br />We're hearing from AP that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang this morning for pre-summit meetings with North Korean officials.<br />The fact that he left for North Korea was announced unexpectedly by U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday during his announcement on the Iran deal.<br />Take a listen.<br /><br /> "Secretary Pompeo is right now going to North Korea. He will be there very shortly, in the matter of, virtual, probably an hour. He's got meetings set up."<br /><br /> We do not know for sure who Secretary Pompeo is going to meet.<br />But the fact that he is making his second visit to North Korea in just about a month could be a sign that new progress has been made regarding the first-ever summit between the leaders of North Korea and the United States.<br /> And, noting what President Trump has said,... it seems likely that the date and location of the Pyongyang-Washington summit could be announced soon.<br /><br /> "We have our meeting scheduled. We have our meeting set. The location is picked. The time and date, everything is picked. And we look forward to have a great success. We think relationships are building with North Korea. We'll see how it all works out. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. But it can be a great thing for North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the entire world. We hope it all works out."<br /><br /> Jung-hee, the understanding is that Pompeo is in the North to finalize the agenda for the scheduled North Korea-U.S. summit. One thing President Trump wants to talk about, of course, is the issue of the three American detainees.<br />Can we expect any progress on that front?<br /><br /> Well, when asked whether the three Americans detained in North Korea would be released,... President Trump said related news would come soon,... adding that it would be a great thing if they were to come home.<br /> Hopes are high that the three Americans could return to the U.S. with Pompeo.<br />And that's especially because, in contrast to Pompeo's last Pyongyang visit that was completely secret,... this visit involves a couple of American reporters -- raising the prospect that the Trump administration might want to create a dramatic scene.<br /> On his way to Pyongyang, Pompeo told reporters... he had not yet received a commitment from the regime that it will release the detainees.<br /> He added he will bring up the issue,... saying he hopes Pyongyang will (quote) "do the right thing."<br />Back to you, Mark. <br />
