In a new twist to the ‘will they or won’t they’ saga of President Trump’s summit with North Korea–originally planned for next month–the Commander-in-Chief tweeted Sunday afternoon that a US team arrived in North Korea to plan for a possible meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jung Un.
Our United States team has arrived in North Korea to make arrangements for the Summit between Kim Jong Un and myself. I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial Nation one day. Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2018
Although President Trump sent a letter calling off the talks Thursday, he kept the option to go ahead with the Signapore talks on the table.
“We can be successful in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, that would be a great thing for North Korea, it would be a great thing for South Korea, it would be great for Japan, it would be great for the world, it would be great for the United States, it would be great for China. A lot of people are working on it. It’s moving along very nicely,” Trump said.
Shortly after news of President Trump’s decision to cancel the talks made its way to the Hermit Kingdom, North Korean state media reported on Kim’s “fixed will” that a summit with Trump should go ahead.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Saturday with North Korean leader Kim near the two Koreas’ heavily militarized border.
The leaders exchanged views on how to prepare for the North’s possible summit with Trump, the South Korean presidential office said.
After the meeting, South Korea’s President Moon was upbeat VOA News reported.
“It was like an ordinary encounter between friends,” he said of his Saturday meeting with Kim Jong Un.
Moon said the North Korean leader remains committed to denuclearization.
“What’s uncertain for Kim is not his intention to denuclearize, but the U.S. stance in hostile relations with North Korea and whether the U.S. can really secure and guarantee his regime,” Moon said.
Kim thanked Moon “for much effort made by him” towards the summit, and said he hoped to improve relations with Washington and “establish mechanism for permanent and durable peace.”
Leaders of North and South Korea also agreed to “meet frequently,” the North’s KCNA agency added.
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VOA News’ White House correspondent Steve Herman contributed to this report.
