Trump, Kim to meet on June 12 in Singapore

We didn’t think this (the release of US detainees) was going to happen, and it did. It was very important to all of us...The true honour will be if we have a victory in getting rid of nuclear weapons.

DONALD TRUMP, US President

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12.

The announcement came just hours after Trump received three American detainees, who were released by North Korea the previous day.

“The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th. We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!” Trump tweeted.

There was no word on the meeting from Pyongyang.

Trump’s announcement about the summit came weeks after Kim sent him an invitation for a meet via South Korean officials. Mike Pompeo then visited Pyongyang twice — the first was a clandestine visit as CIA director last month, and the second was on on Tuesday as Trump’s newly-appointed secretary of state.

Trump personally received the three released men at a military base just outside Washington, accompanied by his wife Melania Trump and vice president Mike Pence.

The release of the hostages was “very important to me”, Trump told reporters. “And I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful.”

Asked about Kim’s reasons for releasing Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak Song and Tony Kim, Trump said: “I really think he wants to do something. I think he did this because I really think he wants to do something and bring that country into the real world.”

When asked how they were treated by North Korea, Kim Dong Chul said: “We were treated in many different ways. For me, I had to do a lot of labor. But when I got sick, I was also treated by them.”