Kim Yong-chol, a veteran general and politician, will be the most senior North Korean official to visit the US in 18 years. He will hold talks with the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, following a flurry of diplomatic activity over the weekend.
The 72-year-old general, the vice-chairman of the ruling Workers’ party in North Korea, stopped in Beijing on Tuesday night, where he was reported to have held talks with senior Chinese officials before his onward flight.
U.S. president, Donald Trump confirmed that the general was on his way in a tweet on Tuesday morning, after South Korean media reported that he was on a passenger list for a Wednesday flight from Beijing to New York.
The president described the impending visit as a “solid response” to his earlier letter to the North Korean leader on Thursday cancelling their planned summit on 12 June.
