By Bartholomew Madukwe with Agency report
In a bid to ensure success of the first meeting between a serving U.S. President, Donald Trump, and a North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, on Saturday paid a surprise visit to the latter (Kim).
It would be recalled that after years of tension over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program, Kim and Trump agreed to meet on June 12, but the U.S. president canceled it.
The meeting was the latest dramatic turn in a week of diplomatic flip-flops surrounding the prospects for an unprecedented summit between the United States and North Korea, and the strongest sign yet that the two Korean leaders are trying to keep the on-again off-again summit on track, reports Reuters.
According to South Korea’s presidential spokesman, “The two leaders candidly exchanged views about making the North Korea-U.S. summit a successful one and about implementing the Panmunjom Declaration”.
Earlier this week, Reuters reported that a U.S. advance team was scheduled to discuss the agenda and logistics for the summit with North Korean officials.
Trump said on Friday that Washington was having “productive talks” with Pyongyang about reinstating the June 12 meeting, just a day after he canceled it, citing North Korea’s “open hostility.”
“We are having very productive talks about reinstating the Summit which, if it does happen, will likely remain in Singapore on the same date, June 12th, and, if necessary, will be extended beyond that date,” Trump said on Twitter.
On Saturday, he tweeted that “there is ZERO disagreement within the Trump Administration as to how to deal with North Korea.”
Victor Gotevbe is the Publisher and Editor in Chief of Diplomatic Watch. He is the Managing Director of Conduit Communications Limited.
