U.S. national security adviser John Bolton will travel to Singapore as part of President Donald Trump’s entourage for his North Korea summit.

An official at the White House National Security Council told Yonhap News on Wednesday that Bolton will travel to Singapore for the summit. 

White House counselor Kellyanne Conway also confirmed that the national security adviser is going to Singapore and will be a part of the talks.
 
Her comments came amid media reports that Bolton was not in Trump’s meeting last week with Kim Yong-chol, one of the top aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, triggering speculation that he has been sidelined from the nuclear talks and lost influence with the president. 

Conway said the fact Bolton was not in the Oval Office meeting with the top North Korean official “means absolutely nothing,” adding it could mean he was occupied with other tasks or not part of a specific team. Bolton, widely known to have a hawkish stance on North Korea, has been calling for a "Libyan model" for nuclear talks with Pyongyang. 

Meanwhile, presidential chief of staff John Kelly and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will also join Trump in Singapore. 

According to foreign media, the U.S. delegation also tentatively includes the CIA’s top Korea expert, Andrew Kim; the National Security Council’s point person on Korea, Allison Hooker; and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin, who has negotiated much of the groundwork for the summit with the North Koreans.

[Photo : YONHAP News]