DEAD OR ALIVE

Pompeo: We’re Checking if North Korea Executed Envoy Over Failed Trump Summit

South Korean media claim an official was killed as a punishment for the failed summit, but it’s not clear if that’s true.

The U.S. State Department is trying to verify shocking reports that North Korea executed a senior official over the failed summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump earlier this year. South Korean media reported that nuclear envoy Kim Hyok Choi had been killed as a punishment for the breakdown in talks between Trump and Kim in February. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday: “We’ve seen the reporting to which you are referring... We’re doing our best to check it out. I don’t have anything else to add to that today.” There is reason to doubt the reports—South Korean media has a history of reporting scoops about North Korea that turn out to be wrong, according to AP, and officials who have been reported to be “executed” have later appeared next to Kim on state television.