White House releases pictures of Mike Pompeo shaking hands with Kim Jong-un

Pompeo confirmed to replace Rex Tillerson as US secretary of state after receiving backing from 57 senators – but 42 voted no

The White House on Thursday released two photographs of Mike Pompeo, the new US secretary of state, shaking hands with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. The photos came hours after the US Senate confirmed Pompeo as Donald Trump’s top diplomat.

The photographs were taken during the visit of Pompeo, then the CIA director, to Pyongyang over Easter. In one image, Pompeo and Kim face each other looking serious; in the other, they both appear to wear faint smiles.