US President Donald Trump said talks with North Korea in New York have been very positive and he is expecting the delegation from Pyongyang to travel to Washington on Friday to deliver a letter to him from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“I look forward to seeing what’s in the letter,” Trump said on Thursday as he left Joint Base Andrews for a trip to Houston. Asked if a deal was taking shape, Trump said: “I think it will be very positive...The meetings have been very positive.”
If the North Korean delegation goes to the White House, it would be the first visit there by high-level officials since 2000 when Jo Myong Rok, a marshal, met President Bill Clinton.
Trump said he was hopeful his summit with Kim would take place on 12 June as originally scheduled but left open the possibility talks would fall through.
"I want it to be meaningful," he said. "It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting. Maybe you have to have a second or a third. And maybe we'll have none.”
"But, it's in good hands. That I can tell you."
After decades of tension on the Korean peninsula and antagonism with the United States, Washington has been demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons program amid reports that it is close to being able to launch a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the US mainland.
North Korea Talks Moving in Right Direction: US Secretary of State
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was confident talks with North Korean officials were moving in the right direction toward a summit and that a North Korean envoy will travel to Washington to deliver a personal letter from leader Kim Jong Un to President Donald Trump.
Pompeo and high-ranking North Korean official Kim Yong Chol concluded two days of meetings in New York on Thursday aimed at clearing the way for the summit.
"Our two countries face a pivotal moment in our relationship in which it could be nothing short of tragic to let this opportunity go to waste," Pompeo said after meetings with Kim Yong Chol.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)