North Korea is open to the possibility of scuttling its nuclear weapons program when it meets with U. S. officials this spring.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is ready to discuss taking nuclear weapons off the peninsula when he sits down with President Trump this spring, according to a report.
News of the openness tees up the historic meeting between the two leaders, who were locked in a war of words for the better part of a year.
“The U. S. has confirmed that Kim Jong Un is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” a U. S. official told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday .
It wasn’t clear when the isolated dictatorship made the guarantee, the newspaper noted.
U. S. and North Korean officials have reportedly been hashing out terms of the agreement through back channels led by CIA Director Mike Pompeo — Trump’s nominee to replace Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
Kim’s willingness isn’t a guarantee the Korean peninsula will be denuclearized, the Wall Street Journal noted.
South Korea brought Kim’s offer to meet to the White House last month, which Trump reportedly expected on the spot.
U. S. officials were worried South Korea may have hyped up Kim’s openness to putting a denuclearization plan on the table.
Still unclear, however, is where the two leaders will meet.
North Korean officials were rumored to be floating its capital, Pyongyang, as a meeting ground, CNN reported .
