N Korea's lead negotiator arrives in US to fix second Trump-Kim summit

Kim Yong-chol, North Korea's lead negotiator in nuclear talks with the United States, arrived here on Thursday, where he is likely to discuss with Secretary of State Michael Pompeo the prospects of a second summit between the two countries.

The plane carrying the senior North Korean official and his delegation arrived at the Dulles International Airport, where he was received by Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun.

This is the first time that a North Korean government official flew directly into Washington DC without stopping over in any other US city, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Considered one of the close aides of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Kim Yong-chol is expected to hold talks with Pompeo on Friday in an aim to finalise the details of a second meeting between Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump.

The senior North Korean official is likely to meet Trump and deliver Kim Jong-un's letter to him.

Kim Jong-un has repeatedly stated that his government is committed to fulfilling its promise of achieving denuclearisation and said the same even during his maiden meeting with Trump in Singapore last June.

Even though engagements between Washington and Pyongyang reached new heights in 2018 with the unprecedented first meeting between Trump and Kim, the last few months of the year saw a stalemate in relations.

North Korea, on the one hand, has asked for corresponding measures by the US for its efforts towards denuclearisation. The US, on the other hand, has pushed for complete denuclearisation before a relaxation in sanctions.