3 sets of talks aimed at arranging summit between Trump, Kim

A top lieutenant of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in the United States conducting one of three sets of parallel talks aimed at salvaging a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump.Kim Yong Chol is meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York to finalize plans for the summit, while lower-level officials have been meeting at the inter-Korean border and in Singapore for other pre-summit negotiations.

A look at what is at stake in the three sets of talks:

U.S. TALKS

Kim Yong Chol is likely to convey to Pompeo that Kim Jong Un is serious about the summit and also to discuss the contents of a joint statement to be issued at its end.

Some experts say major thorny issues are still unsettled, and that is why a senior official like Kim Yong Chol has traveled to the United States to narrow the gap.

Trump abruptly canceled the summit last Thursday before quickly reversing course and announcing the meeting could happen. His decision came amid widespread doubt in the United States that North Korea would be willing to actually scrap a nuclear program it has struggled for decades to build.