U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday confirmed CIA Director Mike Pompeo met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this month ahead of a widely anticipated summit between the president and the dictator.
"Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed. Details of Summit are being worked out now. Denuclearization will be a great thing for World, but also for North Korea!" the president tweeted.
The meeting was first reported by the Washington Post.
The face-to-face meeting between Pompeo, who was recently nominated to be the new secretary of state, and Kim took place in North Korea over the Easter weekend and marks the highest-level sit-down between the two countries since 2000, the Washington Post said.
The purpose of Pompeo's confidential trip was to lay the groundwork for upcoming discussions between Trump and Kim, the Post reported, citing two unnamed sources.
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump said his country had direct talks with the reclusive regime "at extremely high levels," a potential reference to Pompeo's visit. The president added that, while he hoped the summit with Kim would take place, he also said it may not happen.
Concrete details about the high-stakes negotiations over the rogue state's nuclear weapons program, slated for May or June, remain unknown.