Speaking about the expected summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump expressed hope that the high-level meeting will take place in Singapore on June 12, but added that more meetings could be necessary to accomplish all of the goals of the talks.
"I want it to be meaningful. It doesn't mean it gets all done at one meeting, maybe you have to have a second or a third and maybe we'll have none, but it's in good hands that I can tell you," Trump told reporters, adding that he hopes the meeting will go ahead on June 12.
The president further noted that talks with North Korea in New York have been very positive and he is expecting the delegation from Pyongyang to travel to Washington on Friday to deliver a letter to him from leader Kim Jong Un.
"I look forward to seeing what's in the letter," Trump said as he left Joint Base Andrews for a trip to Houston. Asked if a deal was taking shape, Trump said: "I think it will be very positive…. The meetings have been very positive."
Prior to that, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo has cited well-informed sources as saying that Pyongyang "urged" Washington to lift the anti-DPRK sanctions and establish diplomatic relations with North Korea ahead of the possible bilateral summit.
The sources claimed that representatives of North Korea made it plain that they had already taken steps towards de-nuclearization and are going to move towards complete nuclear disarmament.
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"North Korea explained […] that it will not have any reason to possess nuclear weapons if US-North Korean relations are established and hostile policies, including sanctions, are stopped," the sources said.
The sources did not exclude that a positive result of Thursday's meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol in New York may add to Pyongyang and Washington signing an agreement on establishing bilateral diplomatic ties.
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The US, for its part, wants North Korea to remain committed to its pledge on full-fledged de-nuclearization, according to the sources.
On Wednesday, The Guardian quoted a high-ranking US State Department official as saying that Pyongyang should hammer out a disarmament plan in the next couple of days, something which the officials said could add to a scheduled summit between Trump and Kim.
In a separate development, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that South Korea's President Moon Jae-in may visit Singapore during the US-DPRK summit to sign an agreement on the formal end of the Korean War.
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Earlier, the White House released Trump's letter informing Kim that the US leader was canceling their meeting in Singapore scheduled for June 12. However, the following day, the US President indicated that he might yet meet the North Korean leader as scheduled or postpone the summit.
