Trump 'Happy' as Long as North Korea Does Not Test Weapons

The US president, speaking in Washington on the eve of his departure for Vietnam, said he believed he saw eye to eye with Kim and that they had developed “a very, very good relationship”, World News reported.

“I’m not in a rush. I don’t want to rush anybody,” Trump stated, adding that “I just don’t want testing. As long as there’s no testing, we’re happy”.

Also, Trump on Sunday expressed optimism ahead of his summit with Kim, even as experts have cast uncertainty on how productive the meeting will be.

The American leader said on Twitter that he and Kim could come to an agreement on denuclearization.

He added they "both expect a continuation of the progress made at first Summit in Singapore" last year, stressing that Kim "realizes” that without any nuclear weapons, his country will quickly become “one of the great economic powers anywhere in the World".

The two leaders will meet in Hanoi on Wednesday and Thursday, eight months after their historic summit in Singapore, the first between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

Days ago, the State Department announced that the US is not ready to lift any sanctions against North Korea, just as Trump stressed that he is in “no rush” to seek compromise ahead of his “exciting” summit with Kim.

Despite the much-touted upcoming talks, it seems like sanctions will stay in place indefinitely, as the American leader himself confessed to being in “no rush” to reach any compromise.

Also on Sunday, A group of top Senate Democrats wrote to Trump to urge him that his upcoming summit with Kim should produce tangible progress toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

The senators wrote that they hope Trump "will execute a serious diplomatic plan" that includes a process to verifiably freeze and dismantle North Korea's nuclear arsenal in conjunction with sanctions and opportunity for further dialogue among allies.

"We believe your next meeting with Kim thus must demonstrate tangible, verifiable progress on denuclearization and reducing tensions with the North," the senators noted.

After their first face-to-face meeting in Singapore last June, which took place after a historic inter-Korean summit and Kim’s talks with Xi Jinping in China, the US and North Korean leaders agreed to work towards the denuclearization of the peninsula in exchange for sanctions relief and security guarantees.

But, US-North Korea talks for a denuclearization deal appear to have stalled, in part due to disagreements over the timing of sanctions relief. While Pyongyang has since stopped testing ballistic missiles or nuclear bombs, the Americans continue to insist the country's nuclear program must be fully dismantled before they deliver on their part of the deal.

The United States seeks the complete and irreversible dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear program first, while Pyongyang is demanding a solid guarantee of its security and the removal of Washington’s nuclear umbrella protecting allies South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has also denounced the US administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever. North Korean authorities have also complained about continued US and UN sanctions, calling them a “source of mistrust”.

In early February, a confidential report to the UN Security Council noted that North Korea is working to ensure that its nuclear and missile capabilities would not be destroyed by any military strikes.

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