Trump sees 'possible progress' in Korea summit

Trump sees 'possible progress' in Korea summit

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (seated laughing) has proposed a North-South Korea summit, which South Korea has accepted for April. (File photo via KCNA)
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (seated laughing) has proposed a North-South Korea summit, which South Korea has accepted for April. (File photo via KCNA)

WASHINGTON/SEOUL: US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he saw "possible progress" in denuclearisation efforts with North Korea after South Korea said Pyongyang would be willing to meet with the United States and suspend nuclear tests while talks proceed.

The United States, South Korea and China responded with cautious optimism about North Korea's willingness to talk, a development that follows months of insults and threats of war between Trump and the North.

But some US and South Korean officials said a breakthrough remained unlikely after the failure of previous talks, adding that North Korea may be trying to buy time to develop its weapons programs and seek relief from punishing American and UN sanctions.

Trump tweeted briefly that, "We will see what happens!"

He later added, "Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea," Trump wrote in a Twitter post. "For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the US is ready to go hard in either direction!"

There was no immediate comment from Pyongyang.

The news came as a South Korean delegation returned from a first-ever meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday.

The two sides will hold their first summit in more than a decade next month at the border village of Panmunjom, said Chung Eui-yong, the head of the South Korean delegation. The last inter-Korean summit was in 2007 when late former president Roh Moo-hyun was in office.

"North Korea made clear its willingness to denuclearize the Korean peninsula and the fact there is no reason for it to have a nuclear program if military threats against the North are resolved and its regime is secure," Chung told a media briefing.

Chung cited North Korea as saying it would not carry out nuclear or missile tests while talks with the international community were under way. North Korea has not carried out any such tests since last November. North Korea also is willing to discuss normalizing ties with the United States, Chung said.

North and South Korea are experiencing a significant easing in tensions since the Winter Olympics in the South last month, even though they are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

China encouraged North and South Korea to continue their reconciliation efforts.

US Vice President Mike Pence, who visited South Korea during the Olympics, said Washington will continue to apply "maximum pressure" on the North.

"All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearisation," Pence said in a prepared statement.

Despite scepticism about Pyongyang's intentions, the prospect of talks nevertheless represents a significant potential development after heightened tensions and rhetoric between Kim and Trump, who last August threatened "fire and fury" if the North threatened the United States again.

Global stock markets rose on the news, with the broadest gauge of shares, MSCI's All Country World Index rising 0.5%.

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