Mike Pompeo insists his awkward North Korea trip was fruitful

Mike Pompeo arrives in Japan from North Korea
(Image credit: Andrew Harnik/AFP/Getty Images)

From the outside, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's strange trip to North Korea Friday and Saturday did not look like a success. He didn't get an audience with Kim Jong Un, despite the White House saying he would — Pompeo said afterward he hadn't expected to meet with Kim — and North Korea issued a statement Saturday calling it a "regrettable" visit in which Pompeo's "gangster-like" demands "might rattle our willingness for denuclearization that had been firm." On Sunday, Pompeo sounded upbeat about the meeting, saying he refused to pay attention to what people are saying in the press, so he doesn't "go nuts."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.