This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-48814975

The article has changed 17 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Trump ‘trying to work out’ historic Kim meeting at DMZ Trump and North Korea's Kim to meet at DMZ
(about 2 hours later)
President Trump says he is still hoping to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when he visits the fortified strip dividing the two Koreas shortly. US President Donald Trump has confirmed he will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) shortly for a brief greeting.
He told a banquet in South Korea he was still "trying to work out" a meeting at the demilitarised zone (DMZ). The unprecedented meeting comes after Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday an apparently spontaneous invitation to Mr Kim to join him on his visit.
He invited Mr Kim in an apparently spontaneous tweet from the G20 summit in Japan on Saturday. In a joint press conference in Seoul, South Korea President Moon Jae-in confirmed the leaders would have a "handshake for peace" at the border.
North Korea described the offer as interesting, but has not said whether Mr Kim will take it up. North Korea has not yet commented.
Mr Trump is in South Korea to discuss the flagging North Korea denuclearisation talks and trade. It had previously said the offer was "interesting".
He will visit the DMZ with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in. Mr Trump told the press conference that he and Mr Kim had "developed a very good relationship" and he was looking forward to meeting him.
A meeting with Mr Kim would be a symbolic encounter, typifying Mr Trump's unusual style of diplomacy. Apparently confirming that the invitation was not long planned, he said he arrived in South Korea and thought: "Hey, I'm here let's see whether I can say hello."
So far, two summits - in Singapore and Vietnam - have failed to bridge differences over North Korea's nuclear ambitions. "It's going to be very short, virtually a handshake. But that's OK. A handshake means a lot," he said.
A third meeting between the pair at the DMZ, commentators say, would have long-lasting resonance but minimal impact on the progress of denuclearisation talks. Mr Moon said the leaders would meet in Panmunjom, the so-called truce village inside the border zone, where negotiations between South and North Korea have often taken place.
Mr Trump has not confirmed Mr Kim will be there, only saying he expects a "really interesting" visit to the DMZ. No sitting US president has ever been inside the DMZ (demilitarised zone), the thin strip of land which divides North and South Korea.
North Korea described the offer as a "very interesting suggestion", but stressed it had not received an official request. It will be Mr Trump and Mr Kim's third meeting and Mr Moon said the timing of a third full summit "depends on what change today's meeting and dialogue could generate".
Mr Trump is expected to arrive at the DMZ at 2.30pm local time (06.30 GMT), according to the White House. He told reporters that "peace takes more courage compared to tensions".
What did Mr Trump say? Why will this meeting be significant?
At a banquet with South Korean business leaders, Mr Trump reiterated his wish to "say hello" to Mr Kim at the DMZ, saying both sides were "trying to work it out" but it was "not so easy". With no time for the all important backroom diplomacy, it is expected to be largely a photo opportunity.
"I understand that they want to meet," he said. "It will be very short but that's OK. A handshake means a lot," he added. Negotiations with North Korea, to try to convince it to abandon its controversial nuclear programme, reached a peak last year when Mr Trump and Mr Kim had a historic meeting in Singapore.
Earlier on Sunday, he said he would have "no problem" setting foot in North Korean territory to meet Mr Kim. They both committed to the "complete denuclearisation" of the Korean peninsula, but without clarifying what that meant.
He would be the first US president to cross the DMZ, a band 2.5 miles (4 km) wide and 150 miles (241 km) long which has divided the peninsula since the Korean War ended in 1953. It was hoped their second meeting, in Hanoi in February, would make some concrete agreement about North Korea handing over its nuclear programme in exchange for some of the tight sanctions against it being lifted.
None of his predecessors managed it, including Bill Clinton, who once described the DMZ as the "scariest place on Earth". But those talks ended with no deal, as they failed to agree on the pace at which sanctions should be eased.
It was Mr Trump's seemingly off-the-cuff tweet that built anticipation of a possible third face-to-face encounter between the pair. Since then the negotiations have stalled, though Mr Kim and Mr Trump have exchanged letters in recent week.
"If Chairman Kim of North Korea sees this, I would meet him at the Border/DMZ just to shake his hand and say Hello(?)!," Mr Trump tweeted from Osaka. So a handshake at the border would be largely symbolic, signalling their ongoing commitment to the process, but having a minimal impact on the progress of denuclearisation talks.
How are North Korea-US relations? What is the DMZ?
They have soured somewhat since Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in Hanoi, Vietnam. The summit - their second after Singapore in June 2018 - ended abruptly without agreement on North Korea's progress towards denuclearisation. The demilitarised zone (DMZ), which runs about 4km (2.5 miles) wide and 250km long, has divided the peninsula since the Korean War ended in 1953.
Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that North Korea must dismantle its nuclear arsenal before economic sanctions can be lifted. Though that area, by definition, has no military installations or personnel, beyond it lies one of the most heavily militarised borders in the world.
Since the Hanoi summit, North Korea has risked incurring the wrath of the Trump administration by testing several short-range missiles. The Joint Security Area (JSA) located at the Panmunjom village straddles the Military Demarcation Line and is where all negotiations between the two countries are held.
But Mr Trump, who once threatened North Korea with "fire and fury", has struck a more conciliatory tone recently, describing Mr Kim as a "very smart guy" and that he expected "a lot of good things" to come out of North Korea. Tourists can also go to the JSA when relations between the two countries - still technically at war - allow it.
Last week, Mr Trump - who this month said North Korea under Mr Kim's leadership had "tremendous potential" - sent the North Korean leader a personal letter whose content Mr Kim praised as "excellent". No US sitting US president has been inside it. Bill Clinton once described it as the "scariest place on Earth".
What do the other countries involved want?
North Korea has been a significant topic of conversation on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka this week.
All involved parties agree that it would be better if there were no looming nuclear threat on the Korean peninsula, but differ in their views on how this should be brought about.
Here's a very brief guide to those involved and where they stand: