Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said denuclearisation talks with North Korea are “moving in the right direction”.
After meeting in New York with a top Pyongyang official, Mr Pompeo said the talks could usher in “a new era of peace, prosperity and security”.
He said Kim Jong-un’s right-hand man was heading to Washington to deliver a letter to President Donald Trump.
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Gen Kim Yong-chol is the most senior North Korean to visit the US in nearly 20 years.
President Trump cancelled plans for a summit on 12 June with the North Korean leader, but both sides are trying to revive the meeting.
Scheduled to happen in Singapore, a bilateral between Mr Trump and Mr Kim would be the first between sitting US and North Korean leaders.
At a press conference on Thursday, Mr Pompeo said this was a “pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste”.
On Wednesday evening, Mr Pompeo and Gen Kim – who is vice-chairman of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee – arrived separately at a building close to the UN headquarters.
Emerging later, the secretary of state tweeted: “Good working dinner with Kim Yong Chol in New York tonight. Steak, corn, and cheese on the menu.”
This story was originally reported by BBC