The director of the CIA Mike Pompeo had a secret meeting with Kim Jong-Un in North Korea during Easter, according to US reports.
Mr Pompeo reportedly met the North Korean leader as part of an on going effort to lay the foundations for direct talks between President Donald Trump and Kim.
The CIA has not confirmed the meeting but other US officials have confirmed the reports, according to the Associated Press news agency.
The reported meeting would be the highest level meeting between the two countries since 2000 when then secretary of state Madeleine Albright met Kim Jong-il, Kim’s father, in Pyongyang.
The US President said on Tuesday that officials had held direct talks with the rogue state over a potential summit with leader Kim Jong Un.
He did not clarify that it was Mr Pompeo who travelled to North Korea for the talks.
Mr Trump, speaking in Florida on Tuesday, said that five locations were being considered for the Kim Jong-un planned meeting.
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He was speaking as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who commended the president's "courage" in agreeing to meet the North Korean leader.
Mr Trump said: “We have also started talking to North Korea directly. We have had direct talks at very high levels, extremely high levels, with North Korea.
“I truly believe there is a lot of good will. A lot of things are happening. Good things are happening.”
He added: “We’ll see what happens. Because it’s the end result that counts, not the fact that we’re thinking about having a meeting.”
Trump added that the leaders’ summit could be “in early June or a little before”.
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But he conceded it was possible that the unprecedented meeting might not happen at all.
“It’s possible things won’t go well and we won’t have the meetings… we will see what happens,” the president said.
