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U.S. President Donald Trump Upbeat Over Talks With North Korea’s Kim Jong Un

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HANOI – U.S. President Donald Trump hailed “a very special relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they met in Vietnam for a second summit on Wednesday and said he was satisfied with the pace of denuclearization talks despite some criticism they were not moving quickly enough.

“Great meetings” and a “Very good dialogue,” Trump said on Twitter after dinner with Kim at Hanoi’s French-colonial-era Metropole hotel while the White House said the two planned to sign a “joint agreement” after further talks on Thursday.

President Trump has devoted significant time and effort to trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for promises of peace and development, a foreign policy goal that has confounded multiple predecessors.

The Hanoi meeting was Trump’s second meeting with Kim in eight months and he appeared to reiterate recent statements that he was in no rush.

“We had a very successful first summit,” he told Kim. “I felt it was very successful, and some people would like to see it go quicker; I’m satisfied; you’re satisfied, we want to be happy with what we’re doing.”

Asked by a reporter if he was “walking back” on denuclearization demands, Trump said “no”.

Trump and Kim held a 20-minute, one-on-one chat before they sat down to dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Trump’s acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Kim’s top envoy Kim Yong Chol and North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho.

On Thursday, the two leaders are scheduled for a series of meetings at the Metropole, beginning with another one-on-one session lasting 45 minutes, the White House said.

The two leaders would hold a “joint agreement signing ceremony,” at the end of the meetings, which would be followed by a news conference by Trump at 3:50 p.m. Hanoi time (0850 GMT).

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pose over lunch at the second U.S.-North Korea summit at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam. Photo – Reuters

The White House has given no indication as to what the signing ceremony might involve, although the two sides have held discussions that have included the possibility of a political statement to declare the 1950-53 Korean War over, which some critics say would be premature.

Asked if he would declare a formal end to the Korean War, which concluded with an armistice, not a peace treaty that North Korea has long sought, Trump said: “We’ll see.”

Their summit in Singapore in June was the first meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader and ended with fanfare but little substance.

Trump and Kim pledged to work toward denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean peninsula, but there has been little progress since. Kim said they had overcome obstacles to meet a second time and praised Trump for his “courageous decision” to begin a dialogue.

“Now that we’re meeting here again like this, I’m confident that there will be an excellent outcome that everyone welcomes, and I’ll do my best to make it happen,” Kim said.

“We’re going to have a very busy day tomorrow,” a smiling, relaxed-looking Trump, said seated beside Kim at a round dinner table with the other four officials and two interpreters.

“Our relationship is a very special relationship.”

Observers said the pair were at pains to show their relationship had improved since June, with their body language closely mirroring each other.

By Jeff Mason
Thompson Reuters

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