Pompeo names Ford executive to be special North Korea envoy

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he has appointed a senior executive with Ford Motor Company to be his special envoy for North Korea and the two will go to Pyongyang next week.

Pompeo announced today that he's picked Stephen Biegun (BEE-gun) to handle day-to-day negotiations with the North over dismantling its nuclear weapons program.

Pompeo has been leading the effort for President Donald Trump and has made three trips to Pyongyang since April, although there have been few visible signs of progress in the talks.

Biegun, Ford's vice president of international governmental affairs, was a White House staffer and aide to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice during President George W Bush's administration.

He also was an adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

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