*WASHINGTON:* President Donald Trump has agreed to a historic first meetingwith Kim Jong Un in a stunning development in America’s high-stakes nuclearstandoff with North Korea.

Standing in front of the White House, South Korean National SecurityAdvisor Chung Eui-yong announced the first ever meeting between a USpresident and a North Korean leader, which he said would take place by theend of May.

Chung had recently returned from Pyongyang, where he met Kim who, he said,“expressed his eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible.”

Trump hailed “great progress” in the push to persuade Pyongyang to end itsnuclear weapons program.

“Meeting being planned!” he tweeted. “Kim Jong Un talked aboutdenuclearization with the South Korean Representatives, not just a freeze.Also, no missile testing by North Korea during this period of time.”

“Great progress being made but sanctions will remain until an agreement isreached.”

News of the summit, which South Korean President Moon Jae-in said was “likea miracle”, is the latest step in a quickening detente.

North and South Korea exchanged envoys as Pyongyang sent a delegation tothe South’s Winter Olympics, which Seoul had dubbed the “Peace Games”.

The thaw came after a period of extreme tension between Washington andPyongyang that sounded like the growing drumbeat of war.

Just months ago, Trump mocked Kim by calling him “little rocket man”. Kimreturned the favor by describing Trump as “mentally deranged” and a“dotard.”

The United States and North Korea were foes throughout the Cold War andfought on opposite sides of a bloody war in the 1950s.

In the last two decades, they have been engaged in what is perhaps theworld’s most dangerous nuclear standoff, with 30,000 US military personnelstationed just over the border in the South. – APP /AFP