White House Planning Second Trump-Kim Summit

TEHRAN (defapress)- The White House announced on Monday that planning is underway for a second meeting between the US President and North Korean leader after Kim Jong-un sent Donald Trump a letter requesting another summit.

News ID: 72331

Date: 11 September 2018 - 14:48

During a briefing with reporters, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the request was the "primary purpose" of Kim's letter and a second meeting is "certainly something we want to take place", World News reported.

She added that the White House is "already in the process of coordinating that".

Sanders provided no details about the time or place of a second meeting, stating that discussions are still taking place.

The two leaders first met over the summer in Singapore in what was a historic first summit between the longtime foes. The two sides agreed to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. While the summit was seen as a test for diplomacy that could end the long-running nuclear standoff, foreign policy experts say the stakes are high if it does not result in a nuclear agreement.

Trump recently cancelled a planned trip by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to North Korea, citing unsatisfactory progress on denuclearization.

Kim has already told Trump that denuclearization depends on ceasing antagonism between the two countries, while the United States says tough sanctions will remain in place against Pyongyang until its complete denuclearization.

North Korea has stated that its nuclear arsenal is a deterrent against potential aggression by the United States.

Sanders noted that Kim's request is a sign Trump has "achieved tremendous success of his policy so far and the letter was further evidence of progress in that relationship".

She cited the return of US prisoners and the remains of American war dead and the lack of new nuclear and missile tests.

But media reports, citing intelligence and military officials, say that progress toward denuclearization has been slow and that North Korea has shown few signs it is interested in giving up its weapons.

Some in the administration have cast a more skeptical eye toward North Korea's desire to denuclearize.

"The possibility of another meeting between the two presidents obviously exists. But President Trump can't make the North Koreans walk through the door he's holding open," National Security Adviser John Bolton said in a speech in Washington earlier Monday.

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