Bloomberg: Pompeo Faced Hard Bargain From Start of His Pyongyang Trip
From the moment Secretary of State Michael Pompeo arrived in Pyongyang on Sunday, North Korean officials made clear who was in control and how little space the top U.S. diplomat would have setting the terms of the discussion that would follow.
Pompeo was greeted on the airport tarmac by senior official Kim Yong Chol, who told him that only three people could join him in the meeting that he’d come for with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Kim Yong Chol also made clear that Pompeo’s preferred translator wouldn’t be allowed, and his bodyguard would have to leave his weapon behind, according to a pool reporter traveling with Pompeo.
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Update #1: Pompeo Reportedly Faced Strict Security Measures When Meeting N Korea's Leader (Sputnik)
Update #2: Pompeo’s ‘favorite’ translator & guard’s weapon left behind during Pyongyang talks – reports (RT)
WNU editor: These protocols are always agreed upon before a meeting takes place. So either someone was negligent in the US State Department and the North Koreans took advantage of it to show who was in charge, or these points were covered, but North Korea decided to change the protocols at the last moment when U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo landed in Pyongyang. If North Korea had change these protocols at the last minute, I would have advised U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo to leave right away.
