Trump agrees to meet North Korea's Kim by end of May
Agreement comes following receipt of missive from Kim delivered by S.Korean head of National Security Office containing invitation to meet at an undetermined time and location; 'Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached,' Trump tweets.
Trump himself later tweeted about the matter, adding it marked "great progress," but that sanctions will remain in place until an agreement is reached.
Chung added that Kim "expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible." A message by the White House later said that Trump had indeed accepted Kim's invitation to meet, and that the meeting will be held "at a place and time to be determined."
The message further stated that the US expected the Korean peninsula to be denuclearized, and that sanctions should remain in place in the interim to exert pressures on the isolated country.Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze. Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2018
CNN reported earlier that Chung delivered to the White House a letter addressed to Trump from the North Korean leader that contained an invitation to meet. The letter was delivered to Chung during a meeting between senior South Korean officials and Kim held Monday, considered the first meeting between the dictators and officials from the South since he took power in 2011.
Chung added that Kim stated his commitment for Korean denuclearization, as well as his assent to halt his country's nuclear and missile tests.
National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong recounted the North said during the talks it was prepared for "openhearted talks" with the United States on issues relating to denuclearization and normalizing relations between Pyongyang and Washington.
"North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure," Eui-yong told a media briefing.
Chung headed a delegation of ten South Korean senior officials that visit their northern neighbor for two days, staying in Pyongyang. The following day, Trump said that Pyongyang was "on the right track."
Moon welcomes Trump-Kim meeting
South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the planned summit between Trump and Kim will be a "historical milestone" that will put the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula "really on track."
Moon in a statement read out by his spokesman on Friday also complimented Trump for accepting Kim's invitation for a summit, saying Trump's leadership will be praised "not only by the residents of South and North Korea but every peace-loving person around the world."
Moon is also preparing for a summit with Kim at a border village between the Koreas in April.
Previously, the Pentagon stated it was "cautiously optimistic" about the North-South talks, which resumed in January for the first time in two years. The Americans made clear to North Korea that no negotiations could take place without the isolated country's denuclearization—a demand summarily rejected by the communist North.
It appears, however, that in the wake of the South Korean delegation's visit the North has softened its stance on the matter.
Last year, for instance, it could scarcely have been believable for the North to host a South Korean delegation, but relations between the two Koreas have significantly improved lately, with détente between the two countries beginning with North Korean participation in the Winter Olympics held in South Korea, and continued with Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, visiting the Pyeongchang games.
The visit by the leader's sister was the first such visit by a member of North Korea's ruling family since the Korean War ended. Furthermore, claims were made in the US that Vice President Mike Pence planned to hold a secret meeting with the dictator's sister and other senior officials, but that the North had backed out of it at the last minute.
Diplomacy preceded by saber-rattling
In a speech for New Year's Day, Kim iterated his desire for dialogue with with the South. "When it comes to North-South relations, we should lower the military tensions on the Korean Peninsula to create a peaceful environment," Kim said. "Both the North and the South should make efforts."North Korean leader Kim Jong Un used his New Year's speech Monday to declare the United States will never be able to start a war with his own country, which now has the capacity to target the entire US with its nuclear weapons.
He did, however, also strike a less than conciliatory tone when he said, "The whole territory of the US is within the range of our nuclear strike and a nuclear button is always on the desk of my office and this is just a reality, not a threat," emphasizing that the weapons would only be used if North Korea is threatened.
North Korea tested intercontinental ballistic missiles and conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test in September in defiance of international warnings and sanctions, raising fears of a new conflict on the Korean peninsula.
The height of US-North Korean tensions was reached when the latter stated it was seriously considering targeting the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean—a US protectorate—with medium-long range missiles.
This statement was preceded by Trump vowing that, "North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and the fury like the world has never seen."
The two leaders also traded personal insults on several occasions, with Trump calling the North Korean leader "Little Rocket Man" and Kim branding the president a "senile dotard."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
