President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un's Meeting Still Uncertain
The US-North Korea politics made a breakthrough on Friday when Kim Jong invited Trump for a meeting, and the latter duly accepted to meet by May.
Washington, March 13: Uncertainty lingers over the first-ever meeting between the United States' President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as Washington is yet to hear directly from Pyongyang on the invitation extended by Kim via South Korean intermediaries. "We've not heard anything directly back from North Korea, although we expect to hear something directly from them," the New York Daily News reported, citing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as telling reporters on Monday in Nigeria's Abuja, when asked about plans for the meeting, likely to take place in May.
Tillerson also stated that no venue for the meeting had been agreed upon, adding, "I think it's going to be very important that those conversations are held quietly" between the two nations. According to the report, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday said the meeting wouldn't take place "until we see concrete actions that match the words and the rhetoric of North Korea."
The Trump administration on Sunday confirmed that there will be no additional conditions imposed on North Korea before a first-ever meeting of the leaders of the two nations. "This potential meeting has been agreed to, there are no additional conditions being stipulated," White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said. "...but, again they - they cannot engage in missile testing, they cannot engage in nuclear testing and they can't publicly object to the U.S.-South Korea planned military exercises," he added.
The US-North Korea politics made a breakthrough on Friday when Kim Jong invited Trump for a meeting, and the latter duly accepted to meet by May. Trump believes that the upcoming groundbreaking talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will be a "tremendous success" and also expressed confidence in Pyongyang's "promise" to suspend missile tests. A senior US official said North Korea offered to suspend their nuclear missile testing alongside their invitation for talks. The official also said there are no plans to suspend the upcoming planned military exercises with South Korea.