Pompeo to leave for North Korea on July 5

Washington, July 3 (IANS) The White House said on Monday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will head for North Korea on July 5 for talks.

At a press briefing, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said that "to continue the ongoing and important work of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, Secretary Pompeo will be leaving for North Korea on July 5th to meet with the North Korean leader and his team."

The State Department also confirmed Pompeo's trip, saying that the US top diplomat will travel to the East Asian nation on July 5-7, in part of a journey which will also take him to Tokyo, Hanoi, Abu Dhabi and Brussels over the July 5-12 period.

Pompeo is expected to meet the officials of Japan and South Korea in Tokyo on July 7 and 8, said the State Department.

The trip will be the first of its kind since US President Donald Trump met with North Korea top leader, Kim Jong Un, in Singapore on June 12, when they issued commitment to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.