U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has brought to Pyongyang an Elton John CD featuring the song “Rocket Man” as a gift for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, South Korean media reports.
The idea for the gift, which has allegedly been autographed by U.S. President Donald Trump, came during the summit in Singapore last month when Kim revealed he had never heard the song, a diplomatic source in Washington told The Chosun Ilbo.
Trump, who also reportedly sent a letter for Kim alongside the CD, is said to have remembered the discussion prior to Pompeo’s departure Friday.
“Sources in Washington said the gifts reflect Trump’s expectations that Kim will follow through on the pledges in an agreement the two signed at their summit,” The Chosun Ilbo adds.
When asked about the alleged CD Friday, Pompeo declined to confirm or deny the gift’s existence to reports.
Pompeo and a U.S. delegation will spend two days in North Korea in an attempt to get Pyongyang to begin taking steps towards dismantling its nuclear program.
Although Kim agreed to “work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” during last month’s summit, experts warn that the vague promise, similar to others made in the past, lacks specificity.
Commercial satellite imagery taken before and after the summit shows North Korea has continued to expand the Yongbyon Nuclear Research Facility and a key missile production site.
U.S. intelligence assessments also allege Pyongyang has continued to produce support equipment and launchers for one of its ballistic missiles as well as nuclear weapons fuel at multiple secret sites.
“Work is ongoing to deceive us on the number of facilities, the number of weapons, the number of missiles,” one U.S. official told NBC News.
When asked this week whether North Korea is trying to hide its nuclear weapons program, Trump suggested to reporters that only time will tell.
“We’ll see. We’ll see,” the president said. “All I can tell you is this. You haven’t had one missile launch and you haven’t had one rocket launch.”
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