Donald Trump: I Will Meet Kim Jong-un In The Coming Weeks

From starting off the day with revealing that the U.S. was in “high-level talks” with North Korea through none other than CIA Director and Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo, U.S. President Donald Trump in the evening press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that he will likely be meeting with Kim Jong-un in the coming few weeks.

Trump disclosed that Pompeo had forged a "good relationship" with Kim and that the meeting had gone "very smoothly". The visit by the CIA Chief marked the highest-level contact between  Washington and Pyongyang since 2000.

The U.S. President said at the joint news conference that if he did not think the meeting would be successful he would not go, and if the meeting went ahead but was not productive, he would walk out of the room. "If we don't think it's going to be successful, we won't have it," the President said, at the press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago estate which was the site for the U.S.-Japan bilateral talks. He continued, "If the meeting when I'm there isn't fruitful, I will respectfully leave the meeting." "I like always remaining flexible," Trump said. "We'll remain flexible here."

Trump described the U.S.’s negotiation position for North Korea’s denuclearization stronger than ever and said he would negotiate for “complete denuclearization” so that the “two Koreas could live in peace.” "As I've said before, there is a bright path available to North Korea when it achieves de-nuclearisation in a complete and verifiable and irreversible way. It would be a great day for them, it would be a great day for the world…We've never been in a position like this with that regime, whether it's father, grandfather or son," he said.

Following his characteristic for hyperbole, Trump ended with, "Hopefully that meeting will be a success and we are looking forward to it," Trump said at the news conference. "We will be doing everything possible to make it a worldwide success."

Trump’s enthusiasm for talks with North Korea has been met with concern with Japan who have conveyed to the U.S. President the need to get Pyongyang to stop its missile testing as well as the issue of abducted Japanese citizens during his planned summit with Kim. "Abduction is a very important issue for me because it's very important for your Prime Minister," Trump said in Florida.

Abe, meanwhile, said he told Trump this week that North Korea wouldn't be rewarded simply for opening dialogue with the United States. "Maximum pressure should be maintained," Abe said at Mar-a-Lago. "President Trump and I were in full agreement."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2018 11:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).