Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has revealed that he joked about assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when they met in 2018.

The revelation was included in an excerpt released by Fox News on Tuesday from Pompeo's forthcoming memoir, "Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love," set to hit the shelves next Tuesday.

The conversation took place during the former Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) chief's trip to the reclusive regime in March 2018 to "correct efforts of the past" that had failed to eliminate the North's nuclear weapons of mass destruction(WMD).

Recalling his initial meeting with Kim, Pompeo said the North Korean leader was a "small, sweating, evil man," who "tried to break the ice with all the charm you would expect from a mass murderer."

After Kim greeted Pompeo by quipping that he knew the CIA director had been trying to kill him, Pompeo said he decided to lean in with a little humor, replying that he was still trying to do so.

Pompeo said that the joke had left Kim smiling for their picture, seemingly confident that the U.S. official was kidding.

Source: KBS World Radio