Thais offer to host Kim, Trump talks

Thailand yesterday volunteered to host the hotly anticipated summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jongun, as speculation swirls about the venue.

“Thailand is ready to facilitate and host the talks,” Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters, though he stressed that the kingdom has not been contacted about the possibility.

The US embassy declined to comment.

Mr Kim is set to meet South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in on Friday, an event seen as a major stepping stone towards the summit with Mr Trump.

Earlier this month, Mr Trump said five locations were being considered for a summit “probably in early June”, which he hopes will lead to a denuclearisation deal with North Korea.

But he did not specify where, leaving observers to speculate on anywhere from Mongolia to Scandinavia and Singapore.

Thailand is a historic US ally which also has diplomatic relations with North Korea. Thailand first brought Pyongyang into the Asean Reform Forum in 2000 during Thailand’s chairmanship.

Bloomberg earlier reported that Bangkok was one of nine locations being considered for the Trump-Kim summit expected in early June.

According to Bloomberg, Mr Trump said five locations are under consideration for his planned meeting with the North Korea leader but he did not identify them.

The other eight are Geneva, Helsinki, Singapore, Stockholm, Oslo, Prague, Warsaw, and Ulaanbaatar, according to Bloomberg.

Bangkok has the potential because the US embassy in Thailand is one of its largest and it hosts a North Korean embassy, Bloomberg cited.