U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that he will meet with the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore as originally scheduled after recent twists and turns.
Trump made the remarks at the White House after his almost two-hour meeting with a senior official from Pyongyang who delivered a personal letter from Kim Jong Un to Trump.
Washington and Pyongyang are going to start a relationship and it will start on June 12, Trump told reporters after his talks with Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the DPRK's ruling Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee. The high-level DPRK official held a two-day meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York before heading to Washington on Friday.
Trump also described the widely anticipated summit as a "get-to-know-you" situation, saying that it "will be a process" and he believed the DPRK "wants to do the denuclearization."
"I think you're going to have very positive results in the end," said Trump, who also noted that probably more than one meeting was necessary "after years of hostility" and "years of hatred" between the two countries.
Meanwhile, Trump also revealed that he talked about the sanctions imposed by Washington upon Pyongyang during his meetings with Kim Yong Chol.
The White House host told reporters he did not want to use the term "maximum pressure" anymore as the two sides were getting along with each other.
Washington has kept the maximum pressure campaign against the DPRK, including slapping severe economic sanctions on the Asian country.
Trump talked to reporters after escorting Kim out of the Oval Office and posing for photos, along with Pompeo, before Kim's departure.
Trump referred to the letter from Pyongyang as "interesting."
Deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley later confirmed to reporters that Trump had read the letter but did not reveal the content.
The back-on-track summit followed recent twists and turns and the whirlwind of diplomacy over the weekend.
Multi-track talks between the officials of the United States and the DPRK have been held this week in New York, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and Singapore for the preparations of the on-again-off-again summit.
Trump announced cancellation of the meeting in a letter to Kim Jong Un last week, citing "tremendous anger and open hostility" displayed by Pyongyang recently.
In response to Trump's letter, the DPRK's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan said Friday that the country is ready to sit down with the United States any time in any manner for talks to solve the problems existing between them.
Trump then reversed course, saying both sides wanted the meeting to happen and it could still go ahead after productive talks. He also confirmed on Sunday that a U.S. official team had arrived in the DPRK to talk about preparation for the talks.
