Hurdle cleared for historic Kim summit
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is willing to discuss giving up his nuclear weapons, US officials have confirmed, clearing the way for a historic meeting with President Trump.
The assurances come as North Korean and US officials have been in back-channel talks on setting up a summit between Trump and Kim as soon as next month.
“The US has confirmed that Kim Jong-un is willing to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” a Trump administration official told The Post on Sunday.
The announcement means that the United States and North Korea are a step closer to genuine talks on eliminating the threat of nuclear war.
It’s a significant turnaround from the heated rhetoric of months past. Last year, Trump was threatening Kim (inset) with “fire and fury” in the face of continued nuclear and missile tests.
In a war of insults that seemed to be spiraling out of control, Trump famously dubbed Kim “Little Rocket Man.”
Kim shot back, calling Trump a “mentally deranged US dotard.”
But a thaw between the nations took hold with the help of the Pyeongchang Olympics in February.
Wanting a successful and safe Games, South Korea began talking to North Korea again. Their athletes marched together under one flag for the Opening ceremony.
During a visit to the White House in March, a South Korean envoy conveyed North Korea’s willingness for denuclearization talks and an offer to refrain from nuclear and missile tests.
In a shocking move, Trump agreed to meet with the rouge regime’s leader.
Planning efforts have since been underway, with outgoing CIA Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA working through intelligence back channels, CNN reported Saturday.
Pompeo is facing confirmation hearings this week in the Senate as Trump’s new nominee for secretary of state.
Intelligence officials from both nations have spoken directly on several occasions and have met in a third country to prepare a location for the talks, the network reported.
Through these communications, the United States has now been able to confirm what South Korea initially had relayed: that Kim is willing to discuss the possibility of denuclearization.
Previously, former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said there were at least two or three channels through which US and North Korean officials would communicate from time to time.
The Trump administration has not said where the meeting will be or whether a location has been determined, nor has an exact date been set.
The contacts between Pyongyang and Washington come as Trump’s new national security adviser, former UN Ambassador John Bolton, prepares to start work at the White House formally on Monday. Bolton has long expressed hawkish views about North Korea, even advocating a pre-emptive military strike.