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Trump shakes hands with Kim Jong-un and steps into North Korea – live | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Trump is speaking now. He comments on the fact that we are hearing from Kim directly. | |
“You hear that voice, no one hears this voice, he doesn’t do press conferences.” | |
Trump says he wants to thank Kim for responding to his Twitter invitation to meet. | |
“If he didn’t show up the press was going to make me look very bad,” says Trump. | |
“If you look back two-and-a-half years, before I was president, it was a very very bad situation, a very dangerous situation for North Korea, South Korea, for the world. The relationship we have developed has been so much for so many people,” says Trump. | |
“Thank you for asking me to step over that line, I didn’t know if you were going to ask me to do that, I thought you might, but I was ready to do that if you asked.” | |
Trump calls the meeting “very historic”. | |
“The great relationship between President Trump and I, I don’t think if we didn’t have such a great relationship we could have organised this meeting in just a day. I would like to use this strong relationship to create more good news that nobody expects,” says Kim. | |
Kim confirms he heard from Trump yesterday afternoon and wanted to meet him again. | |
“I believe that meeting here, which is a symbol of division and a hostile past, I think meeting here, two countries that have a hostile past, we are showcasing to the world that we have a new present and we have a positive meeting going forward,” says Kim. | |
Trump and Kim are inside now, seated in front of a row of flags. Kim is speaking, will have the translation soon. | |
Standing with Trump on the southern side of the DMZ, Kim said. “President Trump just crossed became first US president to visit our country. This is an expression of his willingness to eliminate the aggression of the past and open a new future.”Trump responded: “This is my honour. I didn’t expect it. Stepping across that line was a great honour – a lot of progress has been made and this is a great friendship. It was short notice so I want to thank you,” he said, gesturing to Kim. “We’re going to go and talk for a while. A lot of positive things are happening … we met and we liked each other from day one. and that’s very important.” | |
And the press conference has actually wrapped up this time and Trump and Kim are heading inside a building for discussions. | |
Trump is still talking. | |
“When I became president of the US, there was great great conflict, now there is less conflict,” he says. “It’s my great honour and the Chairman’s honour.” | |
Trump also says “history has been made”. | |
‘Stepping across that line is a great honour,’ says Trump | |
Trump is speaking now, standing alongside Chairman Kim. | |
“I just want to say this is my honour,” he says. | |
“Stepping across that line is a great honour, great progress has been made, great friendships have been made and this has been, in particular, a great friendship.” | |
Trump has thanked Kim for being available to meet at such short notice, saying he called him up yesterday. | |
“We met and we liked each other from day one, and that is very important.” | |
The press conference has finished up, Trump says he and Kim are going inside to talk for a little while. A reporter asks whether Kim will come to the US any time soon. | |
“I would invite him right now,” Trump says. | |
Views from the North pic.twitter.com/hedUvpCdCN | |
Donald Trump has crossed the demarcation line onto North Korean soil. | |
This is huge, as Julian Borger writes: | |
“Donald Trump has become the first incumbent US president to cross, even if it turns out to be only a few inches, into North Korea. It has a particular symbolic importance to the Kim regime, and is a sign of the country’s normalisation and status in the world as a power among world powers. Bill Clinton came close to visiting in his last couple of months in office, but decided against it, after it was clear in 2000 that George W Bush had been elected as his successor. Clinton felt he could not lock Bush into a peace process the latter would not support. | |
“Jimmy Carter visited Kim’s father Kim Il-sung in 1994 in pursuit of a diplomatic breakthrough, but he went as a former president.” | |
The US president has met with the North Korean leader in a hastily-arranged handshake meeting. | |
Trump confirmed on Sunday that while the visit to the demilitarised zone has been scheduled for several months, he called up Kim yesterday to set up the brief meeting. Trump is in the region for the G20 meeting in Osaka. | |
The meeting is just a greeting between the two leaders, and it is not expected that the two leaders will hold long talks today. | |
Arirang News in South Korea is quoting sources as saying that Trump, Kim and Moon have already met at the DMZ. Though they also say: “We are also not really sure what is going on right now.” | |
It’s a weird afternoon. We’ll let you know as soon as we have confirmation of that meeting. | |
So we are now just waiting for Donald Trump’s handshake meeting with Kim Jong-un, which Trump said would happen in four minutes (roughly 10 minutes ago). | |
Confirmation that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are in the DMZ with the president. | Confirmation that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are in the DMZ with the president. |
Yeah, Javanka there. Iron-clad stares. https://t.co/CqTunSPTDI pic.twitter.com/8Nfs6JgosG | Yeah, Javanka there. Iron-clad stares. https://t.co/CqTunSPTDI pic.twitter.com/8Nfs6JgosG |
Trump is greeting military personnel. This event is taking place at a base in the DMZ. He is now signing the wall of the base, in keeping with tradition. | Trump is greeting military personnel. This event is taking place at a base in the DMZ. He is now signing the wall of the base, in keeping with tradition. |
“Yesterday, I had the idea, maybe I’ll call Chairman Kim…We respect each other, might even like each other,” Trump told the gathered military personnel and press. | “Yesterday, I had the idea, maybe I’ll call Chairman Kim…We respect each other, might even like each other,” Trump told the gathered military personnel and press. |
Trump has been presented with a golf shirt and cap with his name on it from a US military leader, in appreciation of his work for peace in the region. | Trump has been presented with a golf shirt and cap with his name on it from a US military leader, in appreciation of his work for peace in the region. |
Donald Trump says this visit was organised several months ago when he told Moon he would like to visit the DMZ. But says that the meeting with Kim Jong-un was only organised yesterday. “So we didn’t give him much notice,” he says. | Donald Trump says this visit was organised several months ago when he told Moon he would like to visit the DMZ. But says that the meeting with Kim Jong-un was only organised yesterday. “So we didn’t give him much notice,” he says. |
He says the meeting with Kim will take place in about four minutes, so he needs to cut his remarks short. | He says the meeting with Kim will take place in about four minutes, so he needs to cut his remarks short. |
President Moon says we will witness an even more momentous event today. | President Moon says we will witness an even more momentous event today. |
He says these great changes, from the DMZ being a place of hostility to peace is due to President Trump, whom he praises as “the president of all of you”. | He says these great changes, from the DMZ being a place of hostility to peace is due to President Trump, whom he praises as “the president of all of you”. |