WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - The White House released photos of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo shaking hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, marking the highest-ranking US official to visit the pariah nation since 2000.

At the time of the Easter weekend visit, Pompeo was director of the CIA and awaiting Senate confirmation to become secretary of state.

The meeting was a major step towards a planned meeting between Kim and President Donald Trump, which is scheduled to take place in the coming months.

The White House released the photos after Pompeo was confirmed on Thursday (April 26) to his new post.

Then-secretary of state Madeleine Albright was the last US official of equivalent rank to visit a North Korean leader when she met Kim's father in 2000.