N. Korea's top nuclear negotiator arrives in Washington with Kim Jong-un's letter to Pres. Trump

Preparations seem to be underway for a long-anticipated second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.The North's top nuclear negotiator has arrived in Washington,... carrying a letter from the regime's leader.... while at the same time... the North's vice foreign minister is in Europe.Lee Seung-jae starts us off. The North Korean leader's right-hand man Kim Yong-chol is now in Washington, reportedly carrying Kim Jong-un's letter to President Trump.The North Korean envoy was spotted arriving in Beijing on Thursday afternoon.He caught a plane bound for Washington in the evening and landed there on Thursday evening local time.Kim will stay overnight in Washington -- the first such case for a North Korean official since 2000 -- and meet with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday.It's likely he'll meet President Trump too, as according to CNN, he's carrying Kim Jong-un's letter to Trump -- a reply to Trump's letter that was delivered over the weekend.This comes as North Korea's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui has arrived in Sweden. She previously told reporters she's attending an international conference in the Scandinavian country.But because she's North Korea's U.S. expert and one of the key figures related to the nuclear negotiations, observers say she could meet U.S. officials in Stockholm.The Washington Post reports... if the high-level talks go well between Kim Yong-chol and Mike Pompeo, U.S. officials are expecting Choe Son-hui and U.S. nuclear envoy Stephen Biegun to meet for the first time in Sweden.But amid the dialogue momentum, the U.S. is remaining tightlipped on Kim Yong-chol's trip to the U.S.Asked if the State Department had plans to announce any meetings involving the visiting official, a spokesperson said there were no meetings to announce.President Trump often takes to Twitter to announce North Korea-related news, but he has not mentioned the regime, or its leader in recent days.Despite the silence from the U.S.,... the two sides are expected to sit down with each other soon.Watchers say the key will be finding middle ground on their respective demands and take a step closer to reaching a deal of the North's denuclearization.Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.