MIKE POMPEO/NORTH KOREA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump said Wednesday [4-18-18] he recently sent Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo on a secret trip to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, in an effort to set up a summit between the two leaders. Mr. Pompeo, tapped by Mr. Trump last month to serve as secretary of state, met with Mr. Kim to discuss terms of a meeting aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear-weapons program. The secret mission was first reported Tuesday [4-17-18] night. The president confirmed the trip on Twitter Wednesday morning, saying Mr. Pompeo met with Mr. Kim. It went ‘very smoothly and a good relationship was formed,’ Mr. Trump wrote…Mr. Trump tweeted that the meeting took place ‘last week,’ but a White House official subsequently clarified that the meeting took place earlier, over Easter. Mr. Trump had referred to the discussions Tuesday, saying his administration had directly engaged North Korea at ‘extremely high levels.’ Mr. Pompeo’s trip was first reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday.”
-Rebecca Ballhaus, Peter Nicholas and Jonathan Cheng, “CIA Director Mike Pompeo Met North Korea’s Kim Jong Un to Discuss Summit,” The Wall Street Journal online, April 18, 2018 9:45 am