IT’S A DATE
Trump & Kim to hold June summit in Singapore
PRESIDENT TRUMP will meet face-to-face with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore next month, Trump announced Thursday in a tweet.
Details of the historic summit came hours after Trump welcomed a trio of Americans who returned home to the U.S. after being detained in North Korea.
“The highly anticipated meeting between Kim Jong Un and myself will take place in Singapore on June 12th,” Trump tweeted. “We will both try to make it a very special moment for World Peace!”
Trump’s optimism about the meeting, which would be the first between a sitting U.S. President and a North Korean leader, echoed statements made during the overnight made-for-TV arrival of the formerly captive Americans.
“We are starting off on a new footing — I really think we have a very good chance of doing something very meaningful. A lot of very good things have happened,” Trump said as he greeted the former prisoners at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland early Thursday morning.
Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim for releasing the Americans and said he believes Kim wants to reach an agreement on denuclearization at their upcoming summit.
“I really think he wants to do something,” the President said. “It’s never been taken this far, there has never been a relationship like this. I really think a lot of progress has been made.”
The praise follows a year of bellicose back-and-forth between Trump and Kim that had many fearing a military confrontation.
Tensions have since eased, and Kim has suspended nuclear and missile tests and put his nuclear program up for negotiation.
Crediting himself for recent progress in bringing peace to the peninsula, Trump has pointed to Kim’s willingness to come to the negotiating table as validation of his “maximum pressure” campaign. The sitdown would be the first official North Korea-U.S. summit talks since the end of hostilities in the Korean War in 1953. The meeting between the two leaders has been in the works for months, as Secretary of State Pompeo made a pair of visits to Pyongyang. Trump had said in recent weeks that he favored holding the meeting at the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified border separating the Koreas. Pompeo returned overnight from his most recent trip with the three captive Americans in tow. Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen, met the men as they arrived at Joint Base Andrews early Thursday. Kim decided to grant amnesty to the trio at the “official suggestion” of the President, North Korea’s official news agency KCNA said Thursday.
They looked tired but in excellent spirits, flashing peace signs and waving their arms as they emerged from the aircraft. One said through a translator, “It’s like a dream; we are very, very happy.” They later gave the President a round of applause.
The three were later taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for evaluation and medical treatment, the White House said.
Relatives and friends of the men — Tony Kim, Kim Hak Song and Kim Dong Chul — said Thursday they are thankful for their release and grateful to have them back in the U.S.
In a statement, Kim’s family said they were grateful that the three men were released and thanked Trump for engaging directly with North Korea. “Mostly, we thank God for Tony’s safe return,” the statement said. “We ask that you continue to pray for the people of North Korea and for the release of all who are still being held.”