Washington: US President Donald Trump said in his State of the Union address that he will meet with the top leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, on Feb. 27-28 in Vietnam.
Speaking to a joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives, Trump said that “as part of a bold new diplomacy, we continue our historic push for peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
“Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one. Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam,” he added.
U.S. State Department said earlier on Monday that Stephen Biegun, U.S. special representative for DPRK-related issues, will travel to Pyongyang later on Wednesday for meetings with his DPRK counterpart, Kim Hyok Chol, to lay the groundwork for the second Trump-Kim summit and to “advance further progress on the commitments the President and Chairman Kim made in Singapore: complete denuclearization, transforming U.S.-DPRK relations, and building a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
Trump met with Kim for the first time in Singapore in June, reaching several consensuses that have led to the improvement of the U.S.-DPRK relations.
However, differences between the two sides remain over key issues including the scale of denuclearization, U.S. sanctions on the DPRK and whether to issue a war-ending declaration. (UNI)