As the two Korean leaders meet today for a historic summit, the White House released photographs of the meeting that former CIA chief Mike Pompeo had during his secret visit to Pyongyang with Kim Jong-un during the Easter weekend. In new photos released on Thursday, newly confirmed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is seen shaking hands with North Korea’s reclusive leader. Pompeo was the highest-ranking U.S. representative to visit North Korea since 2014.

Pompeo’s visit to North Korea, which was first reported by the Washington Post and subsequently confirmed by President Donald Trump on Twitter — happened before he had even begun his confirmation hearings for Secretary of State.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted out two photos of Pompeo and Kim, which show the two shaking hands but not smiling fully, both in dark suits, firmly gripping the other's hand in an ornate room in an undisclosed part of North Korea. The two are framed in the photograph in such a way that a dove in the backdrop’s painting is placed between the two men.

Sanders tweeted on Thursday that Pompeo "will do an excellent job helping @POTUS lead our effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula."

The existence of the photograph of the secret meeting was revealed by none other than U.S. President Donald Trump during an interview earlier in the day, in which he said, "We have incredible pictures of the two talking and meeting which I would love to release if we can. I will do that. Not a bad idea."

Mike Pompeo was sent to North Korea to vet the possibility of a Donald Trump-Kim Jong-un summit to discuss North Korea’s ‘denuclearization.’ Donald Trump has said multiple times that he could be meeting with the North Korean leader as soon as May or June of this year. Should the meeting happen, Trump will be the first sitting American President to meet with the North Korean leader.

Trump nominated Mike Pompeo last month after firing his predecessor, former Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Pompeo was reportedly chosen as his views on many foreign affair issues correspond with Trump’s own but his views are not necessarily aligned with advocating for diplomacy with North Korea. Pompeo has previously said a regime change in North Korea would be positive, and did not rule out preemptive military action.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2018 08:31 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).