Trump revives hope for summit with Kim; says date and location 'hasn't changed'

Washington: US President Donald Trump said today that he is still looking at a summit on June 12 in Singapore with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and things are moving “very nicely” towards the meeting.

“We’re looking at June 12 in Singapore. That hasn’t changed. It’s moving along pretty well, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House during a meeting with a US prisoner freed by Venezuela.

His remarks came after the surprise meeting between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in the demilitarized zone on Saturday during which the two leaders discussed the summit meeting with the US.

“I just want to mention we’re doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea. Looks like it’s going along very well,” said the US president in response to questions from reporters.

“As you know there are meetings going on as we speak in a certain location which I won’t name. Like the location, it’s not so far away from here. And I think there’s a lot of good will. I think people want to see if we can get the meeting and get something done,” he said.

“If we got that done and if we can be successful in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, it would be a great thing for North Korea,” Trump added. “It would be a great thing for South Korea, be great for Japan and great for the world great for the United States, great for China.” 

Trump said a lot of people are working on it. “It’s moving along very nicely,” he said.

When asked about the talks between Moon and Kim, the president replied, “the talks have gone very well.” 

On Thursday, Trump abruptly cancelled the proposed summit meeting with the North Korean leader on June 12 in Singapore and blamed Pyongyang’s “tremendous anger” and “open hostility” for his dramatic decision.

He had described the cancellation of the summit as “a tremendous setback” for North Korea and warned that the US military is ready to act should Pyongyang take any “foolish and reckless” action.

But within 24 hours he said the meeting could still go ahead after productive talks were held with North Korean officials.

Washington has made it clear it wants to see the “complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation” of the North. But Pyongyang has vowed it will never give up its nuclear deterrence until it feels safe from what it terms US aggression.

In April, Trump had stunned the world by accepting an invitation to meet Kim in an unprecedented sit-down.