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| Trump-Kim summit on track, says Moon, as US officials head for border | Trump-Kim summit on track, says Moon, as US officials head for border |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Kim Jong-un is committed to meeting Donald Trump and complete denuclearisation, South Korean president Moon Jae-in said a day after a surprise meeting with the North Korean leader. | Kim Jong-un is committed to meeting Donald Trump and complete denuclearisation, South Korean president Moon Jae-in said a day after a surprise meeting with the North Korean leader. |
| The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that US officials crossed into North Korea on Sunday to prepare for a possible summit – three days after Trump said the meeting was cancelled. A US official confirmed to Reuters there were plans for Sung Kim, US ambassador to the Philippines, to lead a delegation to meet North Korean officials. | The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that US officials crossed into North Korea on Sunday to prepare for a possible summit – three days after Trump said the meeting was cancelled. A US official confirmed to Reuters there were plans for Sung Kim, US ambassador to the Philippines, to lead a delegation to meet North Korean officials. |
| The Post said the diplomat crossed into the North with Allison Hooker, Korea expert on the White House National Security Council, and a Pentagon official. They met Choe Son Hui, the North Korean vice-foreign minister, the paper said. | The Post said the diplomat crossed into the North with Allison Hooker, Korea expert on the White House National Security Council, and a Pentagon official. They met Choe Son Hui, the North Korean vice-foreign minister, the paper said. |
| A day after Trump tweeted angrily about New York Times coverage of the issue – claiming an official who spoke to reporters on background “doesn’t exist” – neither the president nor the White House immediately commented. | A day after Trump tweeted angrily about New York Times coverage of the issue – claiming an official who spoke to reporters on background “doesn’t exist” – neither the president nor the White House immediately commented. |
| Amid hugs and smiles on Saturday, Moon met Kim on the North Korean side of Panmunjom, the “truce village” on the border, the site of their first meeting a month earlier. The atmosphere was “just like an ordinary meeting between friends” and the two held “candid talks”, Moon said. A video released by the South Korean presidential office had the audio replaced with dramatic music, showing the two men embracing, both with wide smiles. | Amid hugs and smiles on Saturday, Moon met Kim on the North Korean side of Panmunjom, the “truce village” on the border, the site of their first meeting a month earlier. The atmosphere was “just like an ordinary meeting between friends” and the two held “candid talks”, Moon said. A video released by the South Korean presidential office had the audio replaced with dramatic music, showing the two men embracing, both with wide smiles. |
| The spontaneous offer by Kim to meet, and Moon’s quick acceptance, shows how close the two leaders have become. It capped a whirlwind 24 hours of diplomacy as Moon scrambled to salvage the 12 June summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore. | The spontaneous offer by Kim to meet, and Moon’s quick acceptance, shows how close the two leaders have become. It capped a whirlwind 24 hours of diplomacy as Moon scrambled to salvage the 12 June summit between Trump and Kim in Singapore. |
| On Saturday evening at the White House, as Moon was briefing reporters on his meeting with Kim, Trump suggested the summit could go ahead as planned. | On Saturday evening at the White House, as Moon was briefing reporters on his meeting with Kim, Trump suggested the summit could go ahead as planned. |
| “We’re doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea,” Trump said. “It’s moving along very nicely. So we’re looking at 12 June in Singapore. That hasn’t changed. So, we’ll see what happens.” | “We’re doing very well in terms of the summit with North Korea,” Trump said. “It’s moving along very nicely. So we’re looking at 12 June in Singapore. That hasn’t changed. So, we’ll see what happens.” |
| In the US on Sunday, James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, told CNN he wanted the summit to go forward, saying: “There’s value [in] having gone this far, there’s value in meeting and greeting, gripping and grinning, and having the summit.” | |
| Clapper also said he thought “Kim Jong-un may have met his match here with a very hard, very unconventional president”. | Clapper also said he thought “Kim Jong-un may have met his match here with a very hard, very unconventional president”. |
| No one should expect Trump to fly to Singapore and leave with all of North Korea’s nukes. | No one should expect Trump to fly to Singapore and leave with all of North Korea’s nukes. |
| Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA, was less sure Trump would have an advantage. He told ABC: “Kim Jong-un knows his programme inside and out. I think he knows what he can concede. I don’t know that the president has done the kind of homework that would allow him to do this.” | Michael Hayden, a former director of the CIA, was less sure Trump would have an advantage. He told ABC: “Kim Jong-un knows his programme inside and out. I think he knows what he can concede. I don’t know that the president has done the kind of homework that would allow him to do this.” |
| Discussing the Saturday talks, Moon said Kim “once again committed to complete denuclearisation”. But he repeatedly refused to answer questions on the specifics of how North Korea would relinquish its nuclear weapons or if it would allow international experts to inspect nuclear facilities. The question of how the North would give up its weapons has hung over discussions between Washington and Pyongyang. | Discussing the Saturday talks, Moon said Kim “once again committed to complete denuclearisation”. But he repeatedly refused to answer questions on the specifics of how North Korea would relinquish its nuclear weapons or if it would allow international experts to inspect nuclear facilities. The question of how the North would give up its weapons has hung over discussions between Washington and Pyongyang. |
| US officials have demanded North Korea unilaterally disarm before concessions on sanctions or a pledge of non-aggression. Pyongyang prefers phased negotiations and concessions. | US officials have demanded North Korea unilaterally disarm before concessions on sanctions or a pledge of non-aggression. Pyongyang prefers phased negotiations and concessions. |
| Kim expressed “his fixed will on the historic” meeting with Trump, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. Photos of the Moon-Kim meeting were printed on the front of the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers’ party newspaper. | Kim expressed “his fixed will on the historic” meeting with Trump, according to the North’s state-run Korean Central News Agency. Photos of the Moon-Kim meeting were printed on the front of the Rodong Sinmun, the Workers’ party newspaper. |
| “It’s strategically smart for Kim to invite Moon for a face to face meeting, it helps portray him in the public eye as a very friendly, diplomacy-oriented statesman,” said Jenny Town, managing editor of monitoring group 38 North. “It really offsets the tone Kim’s regime has put forward with statements threatening nuclear war.” | “It’s strategically smart for Kim to invite Moon for a face to face meeting, it helps portray him in the public eye as a very friendly, diplomacy-oriented statesman,” said Jenny Town, managing editor of monitoring group 38 North. “It really offsets the tone Kim’s regime has put forward with statements threatening nuclear war.” |
| But Town warned there was still a chasm between Washington and Pyongyang on core issues, saying there was little point in holding a summit that lacked substance. | But Town warned there was still a chasm between Washington and Pyongyang on core issues, saying there was little point in holding a summit that lacked substance. |
| “This is not diplomacy, it’s political theatre,” she said. “There is no trust between the two right now, so why would Kim trust any US security guarantee on paper? Trust on both sides need to be built over time and no one should expect Trump to fly to Singapore and leave with all of North Korea’s nukes.” | “This is not diplomacy, it’s political theatre,” she said. “There is no trust between the two right now, so why would Kim trust any US security guarantee on paper? Trust on both sides need to be built over time and no one should expect Trump to fly to Singapore and leave with all of North Korea’s nukes.” |
| Moon said: “The path to complete denuclearisation and full peace was never going to be an easy one.” He added: “I’m sure we will succeed”. | Moon said: “The path to complete denuclearisation and full peace was never going to be an easy one.” He added: “I’m sure we will succeed”. |
| Moon also said he hoped there could be a meeting between North Korea, South Korea and the US to formally end the Korean war, which ended in an armistice in 1953 rather than a full peace treaty. He praised Kim for announcing a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests, as well as the closing of a nuclear test site this week. | Moon also said he hoped there could be a meeting between North Korea, South Korea and the US to formally end the Korean war, which ended in an armistice in 1953 rather than a full peace treaty. He praised Kim for announcing a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests, as well as the closing of a nuclear test site this week. |
| The two sides are set to hold “high-level talks” on 1 June as well as military discussions to reduce tensions and efforts to set up reunions between divided families. | The two sides are set to hold “high-level talks” on 1 June as well as military discussions to reduce tensions and efforts to set up reunions between divided families. |
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