Trump says willing to invite DPRK''''s Kim to US if summit goes well

6/8/2018 - 10:57:22 AM

US President Donald Trump said on June 7 that he is willing to invite Kim Jong-un, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to visit the United States for further talks if their summit negotiations in Singapore go well.

US President Donald Trump shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a joint news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on June 7. (Photo:Reuters).

Trump made the remarks at a joint press briefing in the White House with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Trump said that Kim's personal letter to him was a very warm and nice one, and that he appreciated it very much.

The US president also said he would like to see the normalization of bilateral ties once the mutual concerns are solved.

Speaking of the US "maximum pressure" campaign against the DPRK, Trump said he would not use the term now. Whether he will re-use it in the future depends on the negotiations, and the US campaign has not changed.

He added that he is totally and fully prepared to walk away from the Singapore meeting if it does not go well, as he did to the historic Iran nuclear deal.

"But I hope it won't be necessary," he added.

Trump said it's possible they will use next week's meeting to sign an agreement to end the conflict. The 1950-53 Korean War ended in armistice, leaving the two sides technically at war.

"As you know, that would be the first step but it's what happens after the agreement that really is the big point," he said. "Normalizing relations is something that I would expect to do, I would hope to do when everything is complete."

For his part, Abe said he sincerely hopes the Singapore meeting between Trump and Kim could be a success.

The highly anticipated summit in Singapore is five days away as the two sides try to reach a deal on dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program in exchange for security guarantees.

Trump and Kim are slated to meet at the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island at 9 a.m. June 12.

Trump said US and DPRK officials are "working very hard" in Singapore to prepare for the summit.

"It's all going along very fine and I hope it continues on this track," he said. "If it does, the world will be a very happy place."

Source: NDO

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