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North Korea's Kim 'set on' Trump summit North Korea's Kim Jong-un 'set on Trump summit'
(about 5 hours later)
It is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "fixed will" that a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore should go ahead, state media say.It is North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's "fixed will" that a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore should go ahead, state media say.
Mr Trump cancelled the summit on Thursday, citing the North's "hostility", but then rowed back after conciliatory messages from Pyongyang. This followed a surprise meeting on Saturday between Mr Kim and the South's Moon Jae-in, who said the North was "committed to denuclearisation".
Late on Saturday he again said the 12 June date for talks "hasn't changed". Mr Trump had cancelled the 12 June summit, citing the North's "hostility".
Leaders of North and South Korea have also agreed to "meet frequently", the North's KCNA agency added. But on Saturday he said that the date "hasn't changed" and that things were "moving along very nicely".
It follows a surprise summit between Mr Kim and Moon Jae-in on Saturday. The summit would be the culmination of diplomatic efforts that began this year to try to defuse what had threatened to become a military confrontation between the nuclear-armed communist North and the South and its US ally.
President Moon's spokesman said there had been a "candid" exchange of views in the two hours of talks between the two leaders. What came out of Saturday's surprise talks?
Their second-ever meeting took place in the demilitarised zone between the two countries. It appeared to be an effort to put the proposed US-North Korea summit back on track. The North's KCNA agency released a detailed statement on the meeting and the South Korean president also delivered remarks. It was the leaders' second meeting in as many months.
"They shared the opinion that they would meet frequently in the future to make dialogue brisk and pool wisdom and efforts, expressing their stand to make joint efforts for the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula," KCNA said. Mr Moon said he and Mr Kim had "agreed that the 12 June summit should be held successfully" and that the North Korean leader had "again made clear his commitment to a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula".
It said Kim Jong-un had thanked Moon Jae-in for "much effort made by him" to arrange the Singapore summit and "expressed his fixed will" that it would take place. But Mr Moon suggested Mr Kim was not certain whether Washington could guarantee the stability of his regime.
The statement added that Mr Kim and Mr Moon had agreed to hold further high-level talks on Friday but no details were given. "What Kim is unclear about is that he has concerns about whether his country can surely trust the United States over its promise to end hostile relations," Mr Moon said.
The White House confirmed on Saturday that an advance team of officials would leave for Singapore this weekend, as originally scheduled, to prepare for the possible summit. The KCNA statement said the two leaders had had a "candid dialogue" and that Mr Kim had "expressed his fixed will on the historic... summit talks". He had called for co-operation to "establish a mechanism for permanent and durable peace" and the opening of a "new era of reconciliation and unity".
Mr Trump took to Twitter on Saturday to angrily dismiss media speculation that the summit, even if reinstated, could not now be held in Singapore in the existing time frame. It added that "top leaders" from the two nations would hold more talks on Friday.
He declared the summit cancelled on Thursday, blaming North Korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility", but tweeted on Friday that "very productive talks" had taken place with the North. What did Mr Trump say?
"We're gonna see what happens," Mr Trump told reporters at the White House in Washington. At the White House late on Saturday he said: "It's moving along very nicely. We're looking at June 12 in Singapore. That hasn't changed."
"We're talking to them [North Korea] now. It was a very nice statement they put out." He also took to Twitter to angrily dismiss media speculation that the summit, even if reinstated, could not now be held in Singapore in the existing time frame:
He was referring to comments from the North's Vice-Foreign Minister, Kim Kye-gwan, who said that Mr Trump's decision was "unexpected" and "extremely regrettable", adding that Pyongyang was willing "to sit face to face at any time". The White House confirmed that an advance team of officials would leave for Singapore this weekend, as originally scheduled, to prepare for the possible summit.
Mr Trump had left the door open by saying in a letter to Mr Kim that "wonderful dialogue" had recently taken place and that he was still looking forward to meeting the North Korean leader. Mr Trump had declared the summit cancelled on Thursday, blaming North Korea's "tremendous anger and open hostility", but then tweeted on Friday that "very productive talks" had taken place with the North.
Saturday's surprise talks were held on the northern side of the Panmunjom truce village, between 15:00 and 17:00 local time (06:00 and 08:00 GMT), Mr Moon's office said. What needs to be sorted ahead of the summit?
In a brief statement afterwards, South Korea said both leaders had "exchanged opinions... for the successful holding of the North Korea-US summit". As Mr Moon alluded to, there is still a lot of ground to be covered and Mr Trump has clearly shown that if does not think a deal can be done, he will not go.
The US is demanding that North Korea completely end its nuclear weapons programme. Mr Moon said after Saturday's meeting that although the US and North Korea "share the same resolve, there need to be discussions regarding the roadmap for how to make it happen, and that process could be tough"
North Korea has conducted six nuclear tests since 2006 and numerous tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles that could, theoretically, reach the US. However, experts have cast doubt on whether the North is capable yet of creating a nuclear warhead for a missile. Mr Moon himself has declined to define what "complete denuclearisation" means and it is unclear whether Mr Kim will agree to fully abandon his nuclear arsenal. Similar pledges in the past have not been upheld.
Analysts say the US had wanted denuclearisation first - followed by rewards in the form of lifted sanctions and economic aid.
Mr Kim has indicated he wants a phased approach, with his steps met by reciprocal ones from the US and the South - mainly on sanctions but also easing of the US military presence in South Korea.
Mr Trump has not ruled out such an incremental approach.
North Korea has been subjected to numerous rounds of international sanctions since 2006, which has cut off most of its exports and capped its imports of oil.North Korea has been subjected to numerous rounds of international sanctions since 2006, which has cut off most of its exports and capped its imports of oil.
Experts believe that economic pressure brought about by the sanctions has encouraged Kim Jong-un to seek talks. The North also wants assurances that its survival as a state would never be in question.
How did we get here?
Getting this far has been a surprise given that North Korea had maintained its strident rhetoric - and continued its nuclear and missile tests - through 2016 and 2017.
This brought a bitter war of words between Mr Trump and the North Korean leadership.
But a rapprochement began in January when Mr Kim suggested he was "open to dialogue" with South Korea.
The following month the two countries marched under one flag at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics, held in the South.
Mr Kim announced he was suspending nuclear tests and held his landmark summit with Mr Moon last month, where the pair agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons.
This week North Korea said it had dismantled its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, although scientists believe it partially collapsed after the last test in September 2017, rendering it unusable.