It’s not uncommon for high-stakes diplomatic meetings to begin with some form of lighthearted conversation or jokes, even if they may be seen as inappropriate or in poor taste.
In this case, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reportedly made a joke about assassination to former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo at the beginning of their secret meeting in 2018.
“This small, sweating, evil man tried to break the ice with all the charm you would expect from a mass murderer. ‘Mr. Director,’ he opened, ‘I didn’t think you’d show up. I know you’ve been trying to kill me,’” Pompeo wrote in his memoir.
“My team and I had prepared for this moment, but ‘a joke about assassination’ was not on the list of ‘things he may say when he greets you.’ But I was, after all, director of the CIA, so maybe his bon mot made sense,” Pompeo continued.
“I decided to lean in with a little humor of my own: ‘Mr. Chairman, I’m still trying kill you.’ In the picture taken seconds after that exchange, Kim is still smiling. He seemed confident that I was kidding,” Pompeo added.
The memoir, “Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love,” will be available starting January 24. A copy was obtained by Fox News.
