Donald Trump to meet Kim Jong Un 'within weeks' for second nuclear summit, White House says

Donald Trump is to meet the leader of North Korea for a second time
AFP/Getty Images
James Morris18 January 2019

Donald Trump is to hold a second summit with Kim Jong Un in February, the White House has confirmed.

It follows the US president’s meeting with the North Korean leader in June: the first ever between leaders of the two nations.

The announcement came after Kim Yong Chol, Pyongyang's top nuclear negotiator, visited Washington.

It’s a rare sign of movement in denuclearisation efforts that have stalled since last year’s landmark meeting.

The two world leaders last met in June

Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: “President Trump met with Kim Yong Chol for an hour-and-a-half to discuss denuclearisation and a second summit, which will take place near the end of February.

"The president looks forward to meeting with chairman Kim at a place to be announced at a later date.”

Thumbs up: the historic meeting between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un (AP)
Evan Vucci/AP

However, the White House added it will maintain its sanctions on North Korea.

Despite the summit announcement, there has been no indication of any progress over US demands for North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

The US has demanded North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons programme but there is little evidence this is happening  
AP

Mr Trump had declared after the Singapore summit in June that the nuclear threat posed by North Korea was over.

That summit had produced a vague commitment by Kim to work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

Trump shakes hands with the leader of North Korea 
AP

But hours before Kim Yong Chol's arrival on Thursday, Mr Trump had unveiled a revamped US missile defence strategy that singled out the country as an ongoing and "extraordinary threat."

Communist-ruled Vietnam, which has good relations with both the US and North Korea, has been widely touted as the most likely site of the next summit.

Friday's Oval Office meeting followed 45 minutes of talks between the North Korean envoy and secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Reacting to the announcement, Harry Kazianis, an analyst at the Washington’s Center for the National Interest, said: "Both nations must now show at least some tangible benefits from their diplomatic efforts during a second summit, or risk their efforts being panned as nothing more than reality TV."

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