Washington:US President Donald Trump said Friday that a date and venue for his landmark summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un would be unveiled soon, as anticipation builds for the unprecedented talks between the mercurial leaders.
And while Trump said he was not envisaging a drawdown of troops in South Korea for now — something the regime in Pyongyang has long wanted — he admitted it was a possibility in the longer term.
Since Kim met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Trump has been steadily offering tidbits of information about his expected meeting with the North’s ruler — even hinting that three Americans imprisoned there could soon be freed.
“We now have a date and we have a location, we’ll be announcing it soon,” Trump told reporters on Friday as he left the White House on a trip to Texas.
The US president suggested earlier this week that the Demilitarized Zone between the two Koreas — scene of the historic Kim-Moon talks — could also be an appropriate venue for his own meeting with Kim.
Other possible sites reportedly include Singapore, Mongolia and Switzerland.
Preparations for a Trump-Kim meeting have gained momentum since the Korean summit a week ago, which saw Pyongyang and Seoul promise to pursue the complete denuclearization of the peninsula and a permanent peace.
North Korea has offered to close its nuclear test site this month — and invited US experts to verify the move. APP/AFP