North Korea shut down bilateral contacts to prepare for the proposed summit between President Trump Kim Jong-un several days before Mr. Trump on Thursday abruptly called off the planned June 12 meeting in Singapore, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told a congressional hearing.
Mr. Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the U.S. side was actively preparing the details and agenda for the unprecedented summit right up to the time Mr. Trump issued his statement.
“We were rocking, we were ready,” said Mr. Pompeo, who has already made two trips to Pyongyang to discuss with Mr. Kim directly the meeting.
It was the North Koreans, Mr. Pompeo said, who shut down contacts while attacking top Trump administration figures for their pre-summit comments.
“Over the past many days, we endeavored to prepare for the summit,” Mr. Pompeo said. “We received no response to our inquiries.”
• David R. Sands can be reached at dsands@washingtontimes.com.
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