Pompeo: US hopes to have NKorea as ’close partner’ not enemy

WASHINGTON — The United States aspires to have North Korea as a “close partner” and not an enemy, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday, noting that the U.S. has often in history become good friends with former adversaries.

Pompeo said he had told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un of that hope during his brief visit to Pyongyang earlier this week, during which he finalized details of the upcoming June 12 summit between Kim and President Trump and secured the release of three Americans imprisoned in the country.