S Korea, US Discuss Second Trump-Kim Summit

Seoul [South Korea], Jan 21 (ANI): South Korea and the United States on Monday held talks on the upcoming second meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump that is scheduled to take place in late February.

In a telephonic conversation, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo discussed the recent high-level talks between the US and North Korea, said South Korea's foreign ministry.

Last week, top North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, made a rare visit to Washington to fix the second meeting between Trump and Kim Jong-un and to discuss the progress of North Korea's denuclearisation exercise, Yonhap News Agency reported.

During his visit, the senior North Korean diplomat, who is Kim Jong-un's aide, met Pompeo and Trump in separate meetings. Washington, however, has not revealed the venue of the second meeting between the US President and North Korean leader.

Kim Jong-un has repeatedly stated that his government is committed to fulfilling its promise of achieving denuclearisation and said the same even during his maiden meeting with Trump in Singapore last June.

Progress after the first summit has been slow as North Korea has been eyeing sanctions relief. However, the US has insisted that the sanctions would remain intact till the communist country took proper steps for ensuring "fully complete and verifiable denuclearisation."

Apart from discussing the second summit, South Korean foreign ministry said that Kang and Pompeo deliberated on the issue of sharing financial costs of stationing US forces in South Korea to continue military drills.

The two foreign ministers called for achieving a deal of the same, which is mutually acceptable to both the sides, on the basis of alliance spirit, the ministry said. (ANI)

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