Trump announces he will be meeting Kim in 'not-too-distant future'
US President Donald Trump has said he expects to hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un "in the not-too-distant future" over the progress in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The two leaders held their first historic meeting in Singapore in June but the details of their agreement were vague, with no timeline or indication on how denuclearization would be achieved.
Meeting's location and time are being worked on: Trump
"I'm going to be meeting with Chairman Kim in the not-too-distant future. The location and time are being worked on. We'll be announcing it," Trump told reporters while meeting with his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the annual UN General Assembly.
Trump called Kim 'terrific' despite slow progress of denuclearization
Trump praised Kim as "very open" and "terrific", despite the glacial pace of progress toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. His comments were in stark contrast to his debut address at last year's General Assembly when he threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea and denounced Kim as "little rocket man". Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, had responded by calling the US President "mentally deranged".
Trump praised Moon on conducting third inter-Korean summit successfully
In the Trump-Moon meeting, Moon shared the outcomes of this month's inter-Korean summit, which included Kim's reiteration of his commitment to completing denuclearization. "Trump commended Moon on conducting a successful third inter-Korean summit with Chairman Kim and noted that there remained work to be done to accomplish their mutual goal of achieving the final denuclearization of North Korea," said a readout of the meeting.
N-Korea has made improvements over its relations with South Korea
Trump and Moon agreed on the importance of maintaining vigorous enforcement of the existing sanctions to ensure N-Korea understands that denuclearization is the only path to economic prosperity and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Since the June meeting between Trump and Kim, the North has made overtures to the South and tried to improve its image, with N-Korea suspending its controversial missile testing.
Critics say human rights situation in N-Korea has been ignored
Kim promised to dismantle N-Korea's main missile testing and launching site, saying he could decommission the main nuclear test site if the US took some reciprocal action. Meanwhile, there are concerns that the human rights situation in N-Korea has been ignored to ensure better relations.
