After summit, Pompeo wants nuke details from Kim

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is set to arrive in Pyongyang on Friday for his first visit since last month’s summit in Singapore, and one of his biggest tasks will be to dispel growing skepticism over whether North Korean leader Kim Jong Un really intends to abandon his nuclear arsenal.

This will be the third trip to Pyongyang for Pompeo, President Donald Trump’s point-man on the North. He met directly with Kim on both of his previous visits. So, with the handshakes and small talk now behind them, this could be where the rubber hits the road. Or where the Trump-Kim train starts to go off the rails.

Here’s a look at why the stakes have gotten higher since the summit, what Washington’s latest signals are and how Kim has been playing his cards.

FIRST THINGS FIRST?

There’s a reason for the concern Kim might not be as serious about his commitment to denuclearization as Trump has suggested in his post-summit tweets.