President Trump agrees to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed on Thursday to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by May after Kim pledged to refrain from further nuclear tests and move toward denuclearization, according to South Korean officials.
The surprise announcement was made by South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong in a short statement outside the White House. The White House later said no firm timetable was set.
Chung said that in recent talks with South Korea, Kim Jong Un "expressed eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."
A senior administration official said the sentiments from Kim were conveyed verbally to Trump during a briefing in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, denying the existence of a physical letter from the South Korean envoy to the president, which was reported earlier.
The White House confirmed that Trump would accept Kim's invitation to meet, but a senior administration official told reporters on a call after the announcement that "at this point, we're not even talking about negotiations."
"What we're talking about is an invitation by the leader of North Korea to meet face to face with the president of the United States," the official said. "The president has accepted that invitation."
Speaking anonymously, the official offered insight into why the administration would take the historic step toward meeting: Because of Kim's consolidated decision-making power in the regime, the senior official said "it made sense to accept an invite to meet with the one person who can actually make decisions" instead of continuing with the "long slog of the past."
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump agreed on Thursday to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un by May after Kim pledged to refrain from further nuclear tests and move toward denuclearization, according to South Korean officials.
The surprise announcement was made by South Korean National Security Advisor Chung Eui-Yong in a short statement outside the White House. The White House later said no firm timetable was set.
Chung said that in recent talks with South Korea, Kim Jong Un "expressed eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible."
A senior administration official said the sentiments from Kim were conveyed verbally to Trump during a briefing in the Oval Office at the White House on Thursday, denying the existence of a physical letter from the South Korean envoy to the president, which was reported earlier.
The White House confirmed that Trump would accept Kim's invitation to meet, but a senior administration official told reporters on a call after the announcement that "at this point, we're not even talking about negotiations."
"What we're talking about is an invitation by the leader of North Korea to meet face to face with the president of the United States," the official said. "The president has accepted that invitation."
Speaking anonymously, the official offered insight into why the administration would take the historic step toward meeting: Because of Kim's consolidated decision-making power in the regime, the senior official said "it made sense to accept an invite to meet with the one person who can actually make decisions" instead of continuing with the "long slog of the past."
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/south-koreans-deliver-letter-trump-kim-jong-un-n855051