North Korean leader Kim Jong Un praised President Donald Trump and was upbeat about denuclearization on Jan. 24 after receiving a letter from the American leader via envoys who traveled to Washington days earlier.
During meetings in Washington, U.S. officials and the North Korean envoys agreed to a second summit between Trump and Kim in late February. Kim expressed “great satisfaction” after receiving Trump’s letter and said Pyongyang “will believe in the positive way of thinking of President Trump,” according to North Korea’s state news agency, KCNA.
Kim said he would trust Trump’s approach and “together with the U.S. advance step by step” toward denuclearization—a goal the two leaders agreed to in a signed statement at their first summit in Singapore last year.
“Kim Jong Un said that we will believe in President Trump’s positive way of thinking, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries,” KCNA said.
The Fake News Media loves saying “so little happened at my first summit with Kim Jong Un.” Wrong! After 40 years of doing nothing with North Korea but being taken to the cleaners, & with a major war ready to start, in a short 15 months, relationships built, hostages & remains….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
…back home where they belong, no more Rockets or M’s being fired over Japan or anywhere else and, most importantly, no Nuclear Testing. This is more than has ever been accomplished with North Korea, and the Fake News knows it. I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
Kim said he was greatly satisfied with the briefing he received from the envoys and ordered preparations for the summit. The White House said the summit would be held in late February, but did not reveal the location.
Vietnam, a nation rumored as the potential host for the summit, has not been informed about any time or venue for a possible second summit but is confident in its ability to host such a meeting, it said on Jan. 24.
Hanoi is preparing to receive Kim for a state visit, two sources told Reuters on Jan. 17, while officials and diplomats said Vietnam was keen to host a second summit between Kim and Trump.
“It is up to the United States and North Korea to decide on the location and the timing of the summit,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang told a regular news conference on Thursday.
At the historic summit in June last year, Trump and Kim signed an agreement committing to work towards peace and complete denuclearization. Pyongyang has not tested any missiles or nuclear weapons since.
Kim has indicated to South Korean President Moon Jae-in he would undertake a “groundbreaking” denuclearization measure, South Korean newspaper DongA Ilbo reported on Thursday.
The newspaper, citing an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the U.S.-North Korea situation, said the same had been made clear to Trump during senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol’s Washington visit last week.
North Korea has hinted, for example, at the possibility of agreeing to the U.S. demand for verification of denuclearization efforts before it shuts down its Yongbyon nuclear facilities.
In turn, the United States has mentioned potential measures such as easing limits on oil imports, a conditional restart of the Kaesong industrial zone in North Korea, and opening a liaison office in Pyongyang, DongA reported.
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
