Trump agrees to meet with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, South Korea says

President Trump responds to a question from a reporter after signing a presidential proclamation on steel and aluminum tariffs Thursday. (Photo: MICHAEL REYNOLDS, EPA-EFE)

 

WASHINGTON — President Trump will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by May for high-level talks over the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, a South Korean official said outside the White House Thursday.

The extraordinary and unexpected opening came through shuttle diplomacy by a South Korean delegation arriving in Washington Thursday. Trump heralded the development as a “major announcement” after speaking with the South Korean president.

Kim Jong-Un meets South Korean delegation, agrees to summit just South of DMZ

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un greets South Korean envoy Chung Eui-Yong on March 6. / KCNA via Reuters

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said he would give up the North’s nukes if the safety of his rule was guaranteed, according to a South Korean official who met with Kim in Pyongyang on March 6.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: “Possible progress being made in talks with North Korea. For the first time in many years, a serious effort is being made by all parties concerned. The World is watching and waiting! May be false hope, but the U.S. is ready to go hard in either direction!”