Kim vows summit results with Trump that int’l community will welcome

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said during a visit to China his country would try to make a second summit with US President Donald Trump achieve a result that the international community would welcome, China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Thursday.

Kim also told Chinese President Xi Jinping he hoped relevant sides would take North Korea’s “reasonable concerns” seriously and respond to them to promote a comprehensive resolution on the Korean peninsula, China’s official news agency said.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said the second US-N. Korea summit and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s Seoul visit will take place “soon” and will be turning points to cement peace on the Korean peninsula.

Moon also told a news conference the South Korean government would cooperate with the United States and the global community in resolving the issue of sanctions on North Korea in order to reopen the Kaesong industrial zone, shared by the two Koreas, and Mount Kumgang tours.

The visit to China, Kim’s fourth in the past year, followed reports of advanced negotiations for a second summit between Washington and Pyongyang aimed at resolving the standoff over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Kim and Trump pledged to work toward denuclearization at their landmark summit in Singapore in June but the agreement was short on specifics. Negotiations have made little headway since.

“The DPRK will continue sticking to the stance of denuclearization and resolving the Korean Peninsula issue through dialogue and consultation, and make efforts for the second summit between DPRK and US leaders to achieve results that will be welcomed by the international community,” Xinhua quoted Kim as saying.

DPRK, or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is North Korea’s official name.

The Chinese state news agency described the atmosphere in talks between Kim and Xi as “cordial and friendly” and said the two reached important consensus, agreeing to make joint efforts to promote development.

It said China supported the North’s adherence to “the direction of denuclearization” on the peninsula and the improvement of interKorean relations. Beijing also supported US-North Korean summits and the use of dialogue to resolve concerns, it quoted Xi as saying.

“China hopes that the DPRK and the United States will meet each other halfway,” it said.