Author Gordon Chang told Newsmax TV on Thursday he was "concerned about the optics" of North Korea's longtime spy chief coming to the Oval Office to present President Donald Trump with a letter from dictator Kim Jong Un regarding next month's summit in Singapore.
"On the surface, that's my initial reaction," Chang, a longtime expert on Asian affairs, told "The Joe Walsh Show" in an interview. "We have to be getting something very important to make this worthwhile.
"I'm concerned about this."
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On Friday, Kim Yong Chol, now vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, is expected to deliver the letter to Trump on Friday.
He met for two days with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York this week to lay the foundation for the June 12 summit in Singapore.
Kim, who is in his 70s, headed Pyongyang's main spy agency from 2009 to 2016. He is not a blood relative of Kim Jong Un, Chang said.
"He has blood on his hands," he told Walsh, referring to the March 2010 sinking of a South Korean warship in the Yellow Sea that killed 46 sailors, though the North denied any role in the attack.
Kim Yong Chol also oversaw the November 2014 hack of Sony Pictures.
"There's all sorts of things that can be traced to him," Chang said. "That's an indication that this is really a bad actor.
"He's served all three Kim leaders," he added. "I don't think Kim Jong Un trusts him, because he's not a blood relative, although his name is Kim.
"But, nonetheless, outside of the immediate family, this guy is as gold standard that you can get in the North Korean regime, which means he's got a lot of bad acts to be called on.
"It's one thing for Kim Jong Un to meet with the president and not in the Oval Office," Chang observed. "It's another thing for this guy to be there."
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