US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that the United States will continue to pursue nuclear disarmament for North Korea, whatever its leader, while rumors spread about Kim Jong Un's health status.
In an interview with the American television channel "Fox News", Pompeo stated that he had met with Kim Yoo Jung, the influential North Korean leader's sister, and her recent rise in the power pyramid led some experts to believe that he might succeed him as president.
The US Secretary of State said: "I had an opportunity to meet her several times, but the challenge remains unchanged and the goal has not changed, regardless of who heads North Korea."
Pompeo reiterated the United States' commitment to the North Korean people "with a brighter future" if Pyongyang's authority abandoned its nuclear arsenal.
Pompeo stressed that «they must give up nuclear weapons. They have to do it in a way that we can check. "This is true regardless of who heads North Korea."
Pompeo visited North Korea four times in 2018. During that time, he contributed to organizing the two historic summits that brought together US President Donald Trump and Kim, after more than half a century of hostility between Pyongyang and Washington.
But hopes dwindled for a possible relief before the American presidential elections, which will be held next November.
North Korea has conducted controversial missile tests, and the United States has rejected Pyongyang's demands that it ease sanctions on North Korea before it fully disarms.
In this atmosphere, the newspaper "NK Daily", which is run by North Korean defectors, reported that Kim underwent surgery in April due to cardiovascular problems, and that he was recovering in a villa in Fyon-gun County.
South Korea on Tuesday played down the importance of this information. The South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) quoted a senior South Korean official, without revealing his identity, as saying that the information about Kim's serious illness was "incorrect".
Trump announced on Tuesday that he knew nothing of the North Korean leader's health, stating that "no one has confirmed the authenticity" of these reports, and that he hopes to be fine.
The US Deputy Chief of Staff, General John Hayton, said on Wednesday that the Pentagon has no information to confirm that Kim Jong-un has lost control of the nuclear power and the military in North Korea.