Intl community applauds Trump-Kim ‘milestone’
UN praises China’s positive role on Korean Peninsula issue
The landmark summit between Kim Jong-un, top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and US President Donald Trump has been hailed by the international community and is expected to open a new chapter of peace.
Trump declared on Twitter on Wednesday that there was “no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea (the DPRK)”.
The United Nations and several countries expressed congratulations and support for the meeting.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said at a daily news conference that the summit was “an important milestone”.
He also praised China‘s crucial role in the improvement of the Korean Peninsula issue.
“China has an important part to play in the situation on the Korean Peninsula and it has played a positive role,” he said.
Russia on Wednesday said that it welcomed the unprecedented meeting between the US and the DPRK as the start of direct dialogue.
“Just the fact that such a meeting took place and direct firsthand dialogue was started can only be welcomed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the meeting is the first step in the right direction toward concrete and practical results.
Describing the summit as “the beginning of a long process”, Finnish Foreign Minister Timo Soini said “the progress from now on is decisive”, hoping it will lead to a peace deal.
The summit in Singapore on Tuesday concluded with a statement signed between the two leaders. Trump pledged to provide security guarantees to the DPRK, while Kim reaffirmed his commitment to a complete denuclearization of the peninsula.
After the summit, Trump tweeted: “I want to thank Chairman Kim for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people. Our unprecedented meeting — the first between American President and a leader of North Korea (the DPRK) — proves that real change is possible!”
On Wednesday, DPRK’s Korean Central News Agency said ridding the peninsula of nuclear weapons is dependent on when Washington and Pyongyang cease moves that antagonize each other.
Kim said it was “urgent” for the DPRK and the US to halt “irritating and hostile military actions against each other”, KCNA said, adding that Trump said he “understood” and promised to halt joint US-Republic of Korea military exercises while talks with the DPRK were continuing.
“We’re not going to be doing the war games as long as we’re negotiating in good faith,” Trump said.
The ROK’s presidential office said on Wednesday that a halt in joint drills with the US may be necessary to expedite talks on denuclearization, Yonhap reported.
Li Chengri, an expert in Asian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Washington stopping the joint military exercises would be a big step forward on pursuing peace on the peninsula.
“If achieved, it proved that China’s ‘dual suspension’ proposal, which calls for Pyongyang to suspend its nuclear and missile activities in exchange for the suspension of US-ROK military exercises, comes to reality,” he said.
The US State Department announced last week that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, would visit Beijing on Thursday after heading first to Seoul for meetings with Moon Jae-in, president of the ROK, to discuss the end of the drills.
China has an important part to play in the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”
Stephane Dujarric, UN spokesman