After weeks of speculation,... we now have confirmation. <br />U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revealed he will meet this week with North Korea's Kim Yong-chol, leader Kim Jong-un's closest aide, in New York.<br />Up for discussion: denuclearization and a second summit between Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.<br />Lee Seung-jae reports. <br />In an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation" on Sunday,... U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed his meeting with Kim Yong-chol, whom he called North Korea's "number two", will happen sometime this week in New York.<br />Pompeo said he expects the two sides to make "some real progress",... including an effort to make sure the upcoming second summit between Kim Jong-un and President Trump can take place where substantial steps toward denuclearization can be achieved.<br />Despite the upcoming meeting, the two sides continue to be at odds over the heavy sanctions on the regime.<br />Last week, North Korea's foreign ministry warned Pyeongyang will "seriously" consider reviving its nuclear weapons program unless U.S. sanctions are lifted.<br />However, Pompeo made it clear on "Fox News Sunday",... that there would be "no economic relief" until the U.S. had achieved its ultimate objective.<br />Meanwhile, news of the meeting between Pompeo and Kim Yong-chol,... and the possibility of another summit comes just two days before the crucial midterm elections in the U.S.,... widely seen as a referendum on President Trump.<br />Trump has often pointed to the detente with North Korea as his signature foreign policy accomplishment.<br />Pompeo emphasized in both television appearances that there have been no missile or nuclear tests since the Singapore summit some five months ago.<br />Kim Yong-chol,... a former top intelligence chief, visited the White House in the run-up to the Singapore summit,... and has been Pompeo's counterpart in the months since. <br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News. <br />
