Trump to meet Kim without concessions

UNITED STATES: US President Donald Trump is prepared to meet Kim Jong-un without any new concessions being agreed to by the North Korean leader, the White House has said, despite earlier demands that more guarantees were needed.

Raj Shah, a White House spokesman, said yesterday that ‘‘no additional conditions [were] being stipulated’’ for a proposed summit on denuclearisation. The only requirements were the terms already on offer to North Korea: ‘‘They cannot engage in missile testing, they cannot engage in nuclear testing and they cannot object to US-South Korean joint military exercises.’’

The statement was issued two days after Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters that ‘‘the president will not have the meeting without seeing concrete steps and concrete actions take place by North Korea’’.

In China, President Xi Jinping is anxious to maintain his nation’s role as a power broker between the West and North Korea, and is believed to have offered to host the talks in Beijing. Chung Eui-yong, South Korea’s national security adviser – whose visit to Washington last week persuaded Trump to agree to meet Kim – travelled to China yesterday to brief Xi.

It is not yet clear where the talks will be held. Washington is one possibility, although Shah has said that this is unlikely. Switzerland, where Kim was educated, is also in the running. A date has yet to be agreed.

Advisers in Washington have tried to warn Trump that it would be prudent to set terms for the talks: he very quickly accepted the North’s offer when it was conveyed to him last week, but has heard nothing since.

Baik Tae-hyun, a spokesman for South Korea’s unification ministry, said: ‘‘We have not seen nor received an official response from the North Korean regime regarding the North Korea-US summit. I feel they’re approaching this matter with caution and they need time to organise their position.’’

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urged patience. ‘‘Several steps will be necessary to agree on the location and the scope of those discussions,’’ he said. ‘‘We have not heard anything directly back from North Korea, although we expect to hear something.’’

China remains North Korea’s biggest trading partner and political ally, but has lost influence over the Kim regime.

Six-party talks aimed at finding a peaceful resolution to a potential nuclear conflict on the Korean peninsula have been at a standstill for nearly 11 years. A Kim-Trump summit could further diminish China’s influence. – The Times