WASHINGTON — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has offered to meet with President Donald Trump and Trump has accepted.
The invitation was delivered Thursday by North Korean national security advisor Chung Eui-yong. In the message - which was originally reported to have been delivered in a letter -- Kim Jong Un also pledged to stop nuclear and missile testing. A senior administration official said later that the message was delivered orally and not in writing, CNN reported.
Kim Jong Un talked about denuclearization 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 is reached. Meeting being planned!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 9, 2018
The meeting will take place by May, according to the South Korean official, but the White House did not confirm the date.
If Trump does indeed meet with Kim Jong Un, he would be the first sitting US president to meet with a North Korean leader. https://t.co/dYZ6RVuq54
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 9, 2018
In a statement released Friday, Vice President Mike Pence said the planned meeting "is evidence that President Trump's strategy to isolate the Kim regime is working."
"The North Koreans are coming to the table despite the United States making zero concessions and, in close coordination with our allies, we have consistently increased the pressure on the Kim regime," he said. "Our resolve is undeterred and our policy remains the same: all sanctions remain in place and the maximum pressure campaign will continue until North Korea takes concrete, permanent and verifiable steps to end their nuclear program."
My statement on North Korea: pic.twitter.com/T4MghUgIGH
— Vice President Mike Pence (@VP) March 9, 2018
On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said during an appearance in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the United States and North Korea were still a "long ways from negotiations."
Cox Media Group