Donald Trump hails 'great progress' with North Korea

Washington: US President Donald Trump hailed “great progress” in talks with North Korea after agreeing to meet Kim Jong Un in what would be an unprecedented summit.

“Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearisation with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze,” Trump said on Twitter late Thursday in Washington. “Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time. Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement is reached. Meeting being planned!”

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said earlier the meeting would occur at “a place and time to be determined”. The announcement was first made by South Korean National Security Council chief Chung Eui-yong, who told reporters in Washington that Kim was eager to meet Trump and that the meeting would take place by May.


The news sent shockwaves through the US national security community, which has long been sceptical of North Korea’s intentions.

Presidential meetings have typically been viewed as a carrot to seal a deal, rather than kick off negotiations.

Asian equity markets gained Friday after the announcement, which sent the yen — a haven during times of stress — tumbling at one point the most in more than two weeks against the dollar.

An official familiar with the discussions said the US made no concessions to pave the way for a meeting and is not backing off on applying sanctions or maximum pressure.

Kim is committed to getting rid of his nuclear weapons and will refrain from nuclear or missile tests, according to Chung, South Korea’s national security adviser, who was in the US capital this week to brief officials about his trip to Pyongyang to meet Kim.