Trump hails Kim’s ‘bold step to future’
LEADERS AGREE NUCLEAR PACT
DONALD TRUMP and Kim Jong Un have concluded an extraordinary nuclear summit with the US President pledging unspecified “security guarantees” to the North and Mr Kim recommitting to the “complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula”.
Meeting with staged ceremony on a Singapore island, the pair came together for a summit that seemed unthinkable months ago, clasping hands in front of a row of alternating US and North Korean flags, holding a one-on-one meeting, additional talks with advisers and a working lunch.
Both leaders expressed optimism throughout roughly five hours of talks and, speaking at a news conference after the meeting, Mr Trump thanked Mr Kim for “taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people”.
The president said “real change is indeed possible” and he is prepared “to start a new history” and “write a new chapter” between the two nations, adding: “The past does not have to define the future.”
Mr Trump added during a news conference that Mr Kim has “an opportunity like no other” to bring his country back into the community of nations if he agrees to give up his nuclear programme.
The president announced he will freeze US military “war games” with ally South Korea while negotiations between the two countries continue.