'Start Here': Top North Korean official meets with Secretary of State Pompeo in New York

Preparations continue for a possible US-North Korea summit.

ByBrad Mielke, David Rind, and Kelly Terez
May 31, 2018, 5:01 AM

It's Thursday, May 31, 2018. Here are some of the stories we're talking about on ABC News' new daily podcast, "Start Here."

1. North Korea in New York

On Wednesday, a top North Korean diplomat set foot on American soil for the first time in two decades.

Kim Yong Chol, a top adviser to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York to continue ironing out the details of a potential summit on June 12.

These discussions, ABC News Chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz tells us, revolve around: "How do you define denuclearization?"

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PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at the Peace House on Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, April 27, 2018
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at the Peace House on Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea, April 27, 2018.
Korea Summit Press/Rex via Shutterstock

2. 'Spy' vs. FBI

President Donald Trump's claims that the FBI had a "spy" in his presidential campaign could be falling apart now that a prominent Republican has sided with the top law enforcement agency.

House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said he saw nothing in a classified briefing with his colleagues and FBI officials that confirmed Trump's allegations, while other party members who had access to the information seem to be staying quiet, according to ABC News' Devin Dwyer.

3. Dead wrong

A couple of days ago, there were reports that Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko was shot and killed in an apartment in Ukraine. Officials immediately accused Russia of assassinating the Kremlin critic.

Then Babchenko then appeared at a news conference a day later. His murder was staged, according to Ukrainian officials, and ABC News' Patrick Reevell -- who's based in Moscow -- tells us why.

PHOTO: A World Health Organization (WHO) worker administers a vaccine during the launch of a campaign aimed at beating an outbreak of Ebola in the port city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo on May 21, 2018.
A World Health Organization (WHO) worker administers a vaccine during the launch of a campaign aimed at beating an outbreak of Ebola in the port city of Mbandaka, Democratic Republic of Congo on May 21, 2018.
Kenny Katombe/Reuters

4. Another ebola outbreak

Health officials are racing to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

ABC News' Louise Dewast is based in the region, and she describes what she saw when she traveled to one of the affected areas.

5. An emotional briefing

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders is used to facing tough questions from the press, but a 13-year-old journalist at the back of the briefing room caught her off guard on Wednesday.

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