RTSun, 30 Jun 2019 06:13 UTC
© Reuters/Damir Sagolj/Jonathan ErnstNorth Korean Leader Kim Jong-un • US President Donald Trump
Donald Trump said he has a "certain chemistry" with Kim Jong-un ahead of a meeting between the US and North Korean leaders at the DMZ. But this shouldn't raise hopes too high - he's "in no rush" to alter his Korea policy.
"For some reason we have a certain chemistry - or whatever," Trump told journalists after meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Seoul. However, there's
still much to be done before a major detente is possible on the Korean peninsula. "Let's see what happens. We have a long way to go. But I'm in no rush."
Trump is expected to briefly speak and shake hands with Kim Jong-un later on Sunday at the demilitarized zone (DMZ). Nevertheless, a further breakthrough in US-North Korea relations should not be expected, Trump explained. He said that he had the idea "to maybe say hello, just shake hands quickly and say hello," just because "we haven't seen each other since Vietnam."
Despite playing down prospects of major diplomatic progress, the meeting could produce something more important than just a formal handshake, Trump added, hinting that another summit with Kim might be discussed.
"A third North Korea-US summit, and the timing of that, really, that would depend on what kind of change today's encounter will bring about. But we have expectations for future development, obviously," he said.
Comment: From
RT: Trump makes history crossing into N. Korea
© APTNTrump steps across DMZ
© APTNPresidential handshake between Trump and Kim
"It's a great honor to be here. A great honor," Trump said, adding that "a lot of really positive things are happening" and that there is "tremendous positivity." The US president also hailed his "great friendship" with Kim, noting that "we met and we liked each other from day one, and that was very important."
Kim for his part argued that by crossing the DMZ, Trump had demonstrated his desire to "open a new future" regarding North Korea.
The surprise gathering came after Trump used his favorite social media tool, Twitter, to invite Kim to have a brief meeting. The invitation came as the US president attended a G20 summit in Japan, meaning that only a short journey was required.
He is the first-ever sitting US head of state to set foot on North Korean soil. Two former presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, have visited the country - but only after they had left office.
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RT: Trump thanks Kim for coming to the DMZ
© Reuters/Kim Hong-JiSouth Koreans watch a live broadcast of the meeting.
"I want to thank Chairman Kim for something else," Trump said after formally praising the current state of US-North Korean ties. "If he didn't show up, the press was going to make me look very bad," he said. "So you made us both look good and I appreciate it." "It's just an honor to be with you, and I was proud to step over the line. I thought you might do that, I wasn't sure but I was ready to do it," Trump said at the event.
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RT: Trump invites 'great' friend Kim to the White House (TBD)
© Reuters/Kevin LamarqueTrump and Kim in Panmunjom, S. Korea at the DMZ.
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RT: US, NK to restart nuclear talks, but Trump in no rush to ditch sanctions
On Sunday, during a hastily arranged summit between the two, the ice seems to have finally broken. Trump and Kim agreed that each will designate a negotiating "team" in order to work together on the details of a future agreement. The teams in question will start working over the next two to three weeks, with the US team to be headed by special representative for North Korea, Stephen Biegun.
Trump, however, emphasized he wasn't planning on rushing into any agreement with Pyongyang. "Speed is not the object. Nobody knows how things turn out... We're looking to get it right."
Meanwhile, there is a rift relating to North Korea within Trump's own camp. After Pyongyang test-fired missiles in May, following a two-year pause in launches, US foreign policy hardliners - like National Security Advisor John Bolton and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo - rushed to slam the act as a violation of international law. Trump, however, tried to play a different tune, tweeting that such incidents worry "some of my people, but not me."
Pyongyang for its part has called Bolton a "war fanatic" working to destroy peace rather than maintain it. North Korea also signaled that it would like to see Mike Pompeo replaced by someone more careful and "mature" in talks. If he engages in nuclear talks again, the "table will be lousy," it warned.
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RT: Reporters go berserk during DMZ meeting
© RTThrong of reporters • Trump and Kim (center)
Hungry reporters formed a stampede shortly after Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un approached each other and began to talk at the historic meeting. Journalists armed with cameras and microphones tried to encircle the leaders, but quickly learnt that they're no match for bodyguards armed with much deadlier gear - stone-cold faces.
Footage from the scene shows reporters trying to break through the security line. "US pool, I'm in US pool," one journalist can be heard saying while arguing with a bodyguard.
The chaos continued as Trump, Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in walked towards a building where a private meeting was held. The US and North Korean press were seen sprinting through the premises, with some shouting: "Which way? Which way?"
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RT: Meeting was organized in secret by US/NK officials
© Reuters/Kevin LamarqueKim Jong-un and Donald Trump at meeting in Panjunjom, S. Korea, June 30, 2019.
US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun met secretly with North Korean officials on Saturday to hammer out the details of the last-minute rendezvous, according to the Korean Herald. The behind-the-scenes work reportedly took place on the northern side of the Joint Security Area and lasted well past midnight.
Accompanied by Allison Hooker, a US National Security Council official specializing in Korean affairs, Biegun discussed security and other logistics surrounding the planned Trump-Kim negotiations with a North Korean delegation.
While the meeting was hush-hush, suspicions were apparently raised after the two US officials failed to show up for a scheduled dinner at the Blue House, the official residency of the South Korean president.
Trump's suggestion of meeting with Kim came to him just hours before he arrived in South Korea. In a tweet, the US president offered to meet the North Korean leader at the demarcation line separating South and North Korea.
Trump described the meeting as "historic" and hailed the "tremendous positivity" resulting from it. Both leaders signaled that their closed-door talks, which lasted nearly an hour, were constructive. Kim reportedly said that the brief encounter had helped to solidify trust between the two leaders, and that he was now prepared to meet with Trump "anytime."
Yeah, I can see that.