President Trump says summit with North Korean leader back on.

President had canceled it a week ago

WASHINGTON – After a rare meeting with a high-ranking North Korean official, President Donald Trump said Friday he has reinstated a June 12 summit in Singapore with Kim Jong Un.

While hailing the promise of a summit, Trump sought to tamp down expectations by saying that “we’re not going to go sign something” at the Singapore meeting. Instead, he said, “the process will begin” on an agreement to have Kim eliminate the nuclear weapons that have generated global tensions for years.

“I think it’s a getting-to-know-you meeting, plus,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Friday’s announcement capped eight days of uncertainty that started May 24, when Trump said he was canceling the summit because of offensive comments made by the North Korean government. In the past week, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in met in the Demilitarized Zone between the two countries, while North Korean envoys scrambled to the United States to meet with U.S. officials.

Trump spoke warmly Friday about the North Koreans after receiving a letter from Kim concerning the prospects of a historic summit between the nuclear-armed leaders.

Kim Yong Chol, a former North Korean spy chief who is now a top aide to Kim Jong Un, entered the White House in the early afternoon to deliver the letter to Trump during the Oval Office meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Trump did not disclose the contents of Kim’s message – “oh, would you like to see what was in that letter,” he told reporters – but said he and the envoy discussed issues ranging from economic sanctions to a possible peace treaty between North and South Korea.

The president later said he had not opened Kim’s letter, saying, “I may be in for a big surprise, folks.” The White House said later that Trump read the letter.