President Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Thursday for his “unwavering faith” in him despite a breakdown in negotiations between the two countries about the rogue regime’s denuclearization.
“Kim Jong Un of North Korea proclaims ‘unwavering faith in President Trump.’ Thank you to Chairman Kim. We will get it done together!” Trump tweeted after a meeting between Kim and South Korean leaders.
The North Korean dictator wants to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula before Trump finishes his term, according to South Korean officials.
The South’s delegation that held talks with Kim set up a summit for Sept. 18-20 in Pyongyang between the North Korean leader and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, their third meeting since April.
“Chairman Kim Jong Un has made it clear several times that he is firmly committed to denuclearization, and he expressed frustration over skepticism in the international community over his commitment,” South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong said.
“He said he’s pre-emptively taken steps necessary for denuclearization and wants to see these goodwill measures being met with goodwill measures,” added Chung, who met with Kim in Pyongyang on Wednesday.
“This trust, despite some difficulties surfaced during the negotiation process between the US and the North, will continue,” he said.
Kim also cited the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site and Dongchang-ri missile launch facility as evidence of his commitment to end nuclear testing permanently, Chung said, the Washington Post reported.
And he asked for a message to be delivered to Trump.
“I can’t release it here, but Kim said he wants conditions to be created that will make him feel right about his decision to denuclearize,” Chung said.
That message will very likely contain an appeal for Washington to formally declare an end to the Korean War — something Pyongyang says is vital to building trust and ending decades of hostility.
Kim said such a declaration would not imply a withdrawal of American forces or a weakening of the US-South Korean military alliance, Chung said.
“Chairman Kim also emphasized he has never spoken ill of Trump to his aides or anyone really. He also said, on the basis of such trust, he hopes to end 70 years of hostile relations with the United States, improve the bilateral relationship and fulfill denuclearization,” he said.
Last month, Trump called off Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s planned visit to North Korea — saying in a tweet that the trip was inappropriate at “this time, because I feel we are not making sufficient progress with respect to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
On Thursday, Pompeo said North Korea still has “enormous” work to do to meet commitments made to Trump in June to accomplish denuclearization.
“There is still an enormous amount of work to do. There have been no nuclear tests or missile tests … but work on making the strategic shift continues,” Pompeo said on a visit to New Delhi.
At a landmark June summit in Singapore between Trump and Kim, the two leaders pledged to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, but no details were agreed on.
After the summit, Trump declared that the North is “no longer a nuclear threat.”
The newly appointed US envoy for the North, Stephen Biegun, last month said Kim had promised “final, fully verified denuclearization” at the summit.
But Pyongyang has since slammed Washington for its “gangster-like” demands for complete, verifiable and irreversible disarmament.
With Post wires
