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Pompeo in Thailand; Talks with North Korea Officials Uncertain

Cindy Saine

   STATE DEPARTMENT - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in Thailand for an
   ASEAN summit that comes just hours after North Korea's latest ballistic
   missile test, the second launch by Pyongyang in less than a week.

   Pompeo will host a U.S.-ASEAN meeting Thursday with his counterparts in
   Bangkok, saying many of them share a vision for security, peace and
   prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. He will also deliver a speech on U.S.
   economic engagement in the region.

   On the way to Thailand, Pompeo was asked when U.S. talks with North
   Korean officials will resume.

   "There's been a little bit of preliminary work to be done. I never want
   to set a date, [but]I hope before too long, we will have Special
   Representative [Stephen]Biegun sitting with what I think will be a new
   counterpart from North Korea."

   The State Department has confirmed that Biegun will be part of the U.S.
   delegation in Bangkok.

   In the past, the annual ASEAN security meeting was used as an
   opportunity for talks between U.S. and North Korean officials, but
   North Korea has signaled that its top diplomat may not attend this
   year.

   Pompeo said he will be meeting with his Chinese counterpart, and that
   they would talk about a whole range of issues. The bilateral talks with
   China come as U.S.-China trade talks resume, and as China raises
   tensions in the region by claiming large swaths of the South China Sea.

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