Kim Jong-Un Is Willing To Discuss Denuclearization With Trump
During the surprise meeting at Panmunjom village on Saturday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un told South Korean President, Moon Jae-In that he is keen on meeting President Donald Trump. Kim Jong-Un, who a few days ago was not ready for denuclearization talk, told President Moon that North Korea will cooperate with the United States and is ready to discuss terms for a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
At a press conference on Sunday morning in Seoul, President Moon shared the details of the meeting. He said that Kim Jong-Un has expressed a desire to “end a history of war and confrontation” on the peninsula. Kim Jong-Un is ready and willing to talk about getting rid of North Korea’s nuclear weapons, which is the prime objective of the Trump administration. In fact, denuclearization was one of the pre-conditions of the summit that was scheduled to take place in June. However, the meeting was called off by Trump when a North Korean foreign minister attacked Vice President Mike Pence who remarked that North Korea would end up like Libya if Kim Jong-Un did not stick to his end of the bargain.
However, on Saturday’s unexpected meeting with President Moon, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said that he is willing to go ahead with the summit as planned.
The meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-Un was scheduled on June 12 in Singapore.
BREAKING: A team of U.S. officials led by Sung Kim crossed into North Korea today to hold summit preparation talks, despite uncertainty surrounding the June 12 Trump-Kim meeting. The North Korean delegation is led by vice foreign minister Choe Son Hui. https://t.co/eLPZiB68cC pic.twitter.com/XwRwNqYtxo
— Anna Fifield (@annafifield) May 27, 2018
According to a report by New York Times, President Trump on Saturday night said that discussions about holding the summit meeting were “going on very well” and that there was “a lot of goodwill” between the parties.
According to President Moon, one of the biggest challenges to holding the summit is the lack of trust between North Korea and the United States. These two countries have viewed each other as threats since the end of the Korean War in 1953.
“Kim Jong-Un has clearly expressed his firm commitment to a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. But what is not so clear to him is how firmly he can trust the United States’ commitment to end hostile relations and providing security guarantees for his government should it denuclearize,” President Moon said.
Speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump said that he still hoped to meet with Kim Jong-Un on June 12 in Singapore, as originally planned.
“A lot of people are working on it,” Trump said. “It’s moving along very nicely. We’re looking at June 12 in Singapore. That hasn’t changed. And it’s moving along pretty well, so we’ll see what happens,” he said.
