North Korea's Korean Central News Agency/Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang, North Korea on May 9, 2018.
- US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on "Fox News Sunday" that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is a "professional" who is "paying attention to things the world is saying."
- He also described what it was like to meet Kim on "Face the Nation", saying the leader doesn't need notecards to tackle complex discussions.
- It was Pompeo's first time talking about his secretive visit to North Korea, where he said he spent a "great deal of time" with Kim.
Speaking about his secretive trip to North Korea for the first time on Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described what it was like to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
On "Fox News Sunday," Pompeo told host Chris Wallace he spent a "great deal of time" with Kim, characterizing him as "professional" and "able to deal with complexity."
On "Face the Nation," Pompeo told moderator Margaret Brennen what struck him about Kim:
"He is very knowledgeable in the sense that he knows the files. He's very capable of engaging in complex set of discussions. When I ask him a a question about something that's a little off, he answers it. There's no notecards. It is Chairman Kim, in this case, interacting with me directly, having a robust discussion about what the outlines of a successful negotiation between our two countries might ultimately be."
Pompeo said Kim is "paying attention to things the world is saying" and follows the Western press. "He'll probably watch this show at some point," he told Wallace.
Kim is slated for a historic meeting with President Donald Trump on June 12, which Pompeo said will "put our two leaders in a position where it's just possible we might pull off a historical undertaking."
When Wallace asked whether they rehashed the two leaders' past of exchanging harsh insults, Pompeo replied, "No, we didn't cover that."
Watch Pompeo's comments below:
In his first interview since returning from North Korea, @SecPompeo tells Chris Kim Jong-un "does follow the Western press. He'll probably watch this show at some point." pic.twitter.com/Ie5o5chrvv
- FoxNewsSunday (@FoxNewsSunday) May 13, 2018
"There's no notecards. It is Chairman Kim, in this case, interacting with me directly having a robust discussion "
- Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 13, 2018
➡️ @margbrennan spoke with @SecPompeo about #NorthKorea today on @FaceTheNation https://t.co/7Ip7TduKA9 pic.twitter.com/ZEiVlR6SFR