Pompeo arrives in N Korea

United States Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Sunday arrived in Pyongyang and is slated to hold talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.

The US Secretary of State is expected to lay the groundwork for a possible second meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump.

Pompeo arrived at Pyongyang after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Tokyo, Yonhap News Agency reported.

This is Pompeo's fourth visit to the communist nation and comes at a time when the US and North Korea are finding a breakthrough to resume their stalled denuclearisation talks.

After completing his engagements in North Korea, Pompeo will head to Seoul later in the day and is scheduled to brief South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha on his visit to North Korea.

On Monday, Pompeo will depart for Beijing to hold talks with high-ranking Chinese officials.

While Pyongyang, on the one hand, has repeatedly asserted that it has taken various steps to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme in exchange for a possible sanctions relief, on the other hand the US has reiterated that it will not lift the sanctions unless North Korea achieves "complete and fully verifiable denuclearisation".

In August, Trump had abruptly cancelled Pompeo's planned visit to North Korea, citing the lack of sufficient progress on denuclearisation talks between both the countries.