U. S. President Donald Trump said Monday that a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization would happen «in the not-too-distant
U. S. President Donald Trump said Monday that a second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on denuclearization would happen “in the not-too-distant future,” as the South’s leader heaped praise on Trump, calling him “the only person who can solve this problem.”
Speaking during a televised meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in New York, Trump said there had been “tremendous progress” on the nuclear issue, and that a second summit held under a “similar format” as his landmark June meeting with Kim in Singapore, but likely in a different location.
“We’ll be having a second summit with Chairman Kim in the not too distant future,” Trump said. “I think a lot of progress is being made. I see tremendous enthusiasm on behalf of Chairman Kim for making a deal.”
Washington’s denuclearization talks with Pyongyang had hit a wall in the more than three months since the Singapore summit, but plans for a second meeting, as well as a series of tantalizing proposals by Kim at least week’s inter-Korean summit with Moon, have injected fresh momentum into the negotiations.
During their meeting Monday, Moon also highlighted what he said was the indispensable role Trump has played in the nuclear talks.
“Thanks to your bold decision and new approach, we are in the process of solving a problem that no one has been able to solve in the decades past,” Moon said of Trump.
“Chairman Kim also repeatedly conveyed his unwavering trust and expectations for you, while expressing his hope to meet you soon to swiftly conclude the denuclearization process with you, because you are, indeed, the only person who can solve this problem.”
Pompeo said a Kim-Trump summit was needed considering that U. S. had “been at this the other way an awfully long time and failed
“We tried to do details. We tried to do step for step. We tried to do trade for trade. Each of those failed,” he said. “We’re bringing the two senior leaders, the individuals who can actually make the decisions that will move this process forward,” in hopes they can make a breakthrough.
Frank Aum, a former senior Pentagon adviser on North Korea now with the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, lauded Moon’s approach and said it had “made a big difference.”
“I think it’s preferable to try to appeal to President Trump’s singular negotiation skills rather than making another option, such as a military measure, more salient,” Aum said.
