PYONGYANG, North Korea – Days after exchanging pleasant letters with each other, the U.S. President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have begun preparations for a second North Korea-U.S. summit.
Preparations for a second summit between the two nations began after North Korea’s lead negotiator on nuclear talks, Kim Yong Chol met with Trump at the Oval Office two weeks back.
At the time, Chol handed a letter from the North Korean leader to Trump and the meeting ended with Trump’s declaration of a second summit with Kim Jong Un.
Trump said that the specific date and location of the summit would be announced later but confirmed that the meeting would be held at the end of February.
The U.S. President also sent a letter addressed to the North Korean leader after the meeting, with the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirming that, “the President responded to Chairman Kim’s letter.”
After receiving the letter from Trump, Kim Jong Un reportedly expressed “great satisfaction.”
The North Korean state news agency, KCNA quoted the country’s leader as saying, “Kim Jong Un said that we will believe in President Trump’s positive way of thinking, wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries.”
It stated, “Kim Jong Un spoke highly of President Trump for expressing his unusual determination and will for the settlement of the issue with a great interest in the second DPRK-U.S. summit. Upon receiving the good personal letter sent by President Trump, the Supreme Leader expressed great satisfaction.”
While Trump’s decision to proceed with a second summit with Kim Jong Un came despite criticism from some U.S. lawmakers and his own advisers, preparations for the meeting have already begun in both the countries.
On Saturday, North’s state media reported that Kim Jong Un has ordered preparations for a second summit with Trump and has said that he will “wait with patience and in good faith” to work toward a common goal.
The North Korean leader was quoted as saying, “We will wait with patience and in good faith and, together with the U.S., advance step by step toward the goal to be reached by the two countries.”
KCNA noted that Kim Jong Un had also “set forth tasks and orientation for making good technical preparations” for the second summit high on the agenda.
Meanwhile, Trump too took to Twitter this week and said, “I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!”
He also defended the progress being made with North Korea and wrote, “The Fake News Media loves saying ‘so little happened at my first summit with Kim Jong Un.’ Wrong! After 40 years of doing nothing with North Korea but being taken to the cleaners, & with a major war ready to start, in a short 15 months, relationships built, hostages & remains back home where they belong, no more Rockets or M’s being fired over Japan or anywhere else and, most importantly, no Nuclear Testing.”
Trump added, “This is more than has ever been accomplished with North Korea, and the Fake News knows it. I expect another good meeting soon, much potential!”
Denuclearization: The sticking point
After the U.S. President held the historic first ever meeting with the North Korean leader in Singapore last year, both the countries vowed to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.
However, since then, hostilities between the two countries have ended, but work towards the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula has stalled.
Washington is calling for North Korea’s complete denuclearization, while Pyongyang is demandng relief from crippling sanctions first.
North Korea has also refused to comply with America’s unilateral demand to denuclearize after Washington said that it wanted North Korea to completely abandon its nuclear program and do away with its highly sophisticated arsenal of missiles and weapons.
North Korea has faced harsh criticism from some U.S. lawmakers, for its failure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program and the issue of denuclearization is set to be a sticking point between both the sides during the second summit planned for next month.
According to international experts and North Korea observers, Vietnam is likely to be chosen as a venue for a second summit even though no official announcements have been made.
Earlier this week, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry expressed confidence in the country’s ability to host a summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said, “We are very confident in our ability to host international events in Vietnam, as we successfully held the APEC summit in 2017 and, other international events.”
However, Hang pointed out that the country had not received any details about when the summit would be held or what venue would be used so far and said, “It is up to the United States and North Korea to decide on the location and the timing of the summit.”