Trump ‘looking forward’ to meeting Kim Jong-un in February

Washington: Confirming a second summit with North Korea, US President Donald Trump has announced that he is “looking forward” to meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the end of February.

“The Media is not giving us credit for the tremendous progress we have made with North Korea. Think of where we were at the end of the Obama Administration compared to now. Great meeting this week with top Reps. Looking forward to meeting with Chairman Kim at end of February!” Trump tweeted on January 20 (local time).

The US President’s confirmation comes amid stalled talks between the US and North Korea on the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula. Moreover, the announcement regarding the meeting comes at a time when top North Korean negotiator, Kim Yong-chol, visited Washington and met with Trump and other senior US officials, including Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

The location of the meeting is yet to be announced even though it has been finalised, according to Trump. Several media reports have indicated that Vietnam is the probable venue for the second summit between the sides.

The first historic US-North Korea summit between Trump and Jong-un was held in June 2018 at Singapore.

However, relations between both the countries reached a stalemate in the recent months. On the one hand, North Korea had sought for ease in sanctions in exchange for the steps the country has taken towards denuclearisation, including the destruction of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site. On the other hand, US had reinforced that sanctions would only be eased once complete denuclearisation takes place, leading to an impasse.

[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]