Despite cancelling a planned summit with DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un last week, U.S. President Donald Trump now says that preparations are on track for the meeting in Singapore.
Trump made his remarks, after news was announced that Kim Jong Un had met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for the second time in a month.
Speaking to the press during a meeting with Joshua Holt, a U.S. national who was released from prison in Venezuela, at the White House in Washington DC, Trump gave the latest update on the summit between him and Kim Jong Un.
“I think there’s a lot of goodwill, I think people want to see if we can get the meeting and get something done. 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, would be a great thing for South Korea, it would be great for Japan and great for the world, great for the United States, great for China. A lot of people are working on it. It’s moving along very nicely. So we’re looking at June 12th in Singapore – that hasn’t changed and it’s moving along pretty well,” said Trump.
On Thursday, Trump sent a letter to Kim, saying that he was cancelling the meeting in Singapore, which was scheduled to take place on June 12th, citing what he described as “open hostility” from the DPRK.
But he reversed course just one day after the announcement.
Trump’s remarks on Sunday came shortly after Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Saturday held their second meeting in less than a month, following their historic inter-Korean summit in April.
Speaking in a televised speech on Sunday, Moon Jae-in described his second summit with Kim, held in the truce village of Panmunjom on the DPRK side, as a meeting between old friends.
Moon, who met with Trump earlier in the week in Washington DC, said both the DPRK and the US would like to see the Singapore meeting materialize.
“As both Chairman (of the Workers’ Party of Korea) Kim and President Trump have wholeheartedly wished for the success of the DPRK-U.S. summit, I stress that both countries should dispel possible misunderstandings via direct dialogues, and have sufficient working-level talks over agenda that needs to be agreed upon at the summit between the two leaders,” said Moon.
President Moon said Trump is willing to end his country’s hostile relations with the DPRK and build economic cooperation if Kim agrees to complete denuclearization.
He added that Kim also expressed his determination to push forward the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
“Chairman Kim Jong Un made clear his commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula once again after April’s inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom. He also expressed his willingness to end the history of war and conflict, and cooperate for peace and prosperity in his country,” said Moon.
Many South Korean have expressed relief after hearing about the surprise meeting between Kim and Moon.
“The citizens of South Korea were concerned about Trump’s decision to cancel the DPRK-US summit. Fortunately, I think President Moon successfully alleviated the tension between the US and the DPRK by promptly holding the inter-Korea summit on Saturday,” said Seoul citizen Park Jin.
“I was worried about the fickle and inconsistent atmosphere for the DPRK-US summit. I came to Seoul and was very surprised and delighted by the unexpected inter-Korean summit that was held on Saturday. I hope the summit works out well,” said another Seoul citizen Ha Sung-jeom.
To continue the momentum of dialogue, the DPRK and South Korea have agreed to hold high-level talks on June 1st, followed by talks between their military officials.
Last Thursday, the DPRK dismantled its nuclear test site by blowing up its three tunnels.
Journalists from China, Russia, the United States, South Korea and Britain were invited to witness the process.
